HopeLives365

Mark Finley: One day, there will be a crown of life. One day, there will be an imperishable crown. One day, there will be a crown of righteousness. One day, there will be a crown of glory. One day, there will be a crown of rejoicing, and we will see Him come.

Guest (Male): This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message: The Only Crown that Matters. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up-to-date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to HopeLives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: From 1985 to 1990, our family lived in England. We lived in St. Albans, which is about 45 minutes outside of London. We often visited London; it is one of my favorite cities in all the world. One of the things we used to like to do was go to the Tower of London.

Kings and queens have stored their crowns, their robes, and other items of ceremonial regalia at the Tower of London for over 600 years. Since the 1600s, the coronation regalia itself has been stored there. If you see the coronation of a king or queen of England—and our current queen is getting a little older, so we will see a coronation probably quite soon—they will take the crown jewels from the Tower of London and bring them to Westminster Abbey, where that crowning will take place.

It is amazing that over 30 million people have seen the crown jewels. They are probably the most visited objects in all the world, certainly the most visited objects in London. Most remarkable of all, this is a working collection. It is not just a collection in a museum, but those crown jewels are used on ceremonial occasions. For example, the Imperial State Crown is usually worn by the monarch for the opening of Parliament.

The most expensive crown in the world is in the Tower of London. This crown was worn by the Royal Family for many, many years. Here is its estimated worth if you want to try to purchase it for your wife: $39 million. But they wouldn't sell it anyway because it is priceless.

The glory of the crown jewels fades into insignificance in the light of five heavenly crowns the Bible describes. The Bible describes five heavenly crowns in the New Testament that the people of God will wear, and it describes two crowns that Jesus—one of them He has worn, and one of them He will wear. This morning, we want to probe the depths of the New Testament and study these five heavenly crowns. They speak with relevance at a time when people are looking for purpose and meaning in their lives.

The first crown we find is in Revelation chapter two, verse 10. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil will throw some of you into prison that you may be tested, that you will have tribulation 10 days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life. These words were written to the church at Smyrna. The city of Smyrna, the modern-day city of Izmir in Turkey, is a beautiful seacoast city. I have visited that city on numerous occasions.

The chief god of that city was Dionysus. Dionysus was the god of festivity and the god of fertility. When the priests of Dionysus died, they placed a death crown upon that priest's head. So when John writes Revelation, he contrasts the death crown on the head of the priests of Dionysus, who didn't have eternal life, with the crown of life that the people of God are going to wear.

The crown of life is presented to those who face trials, those who face difficulties, those who face suffering, those who face death itself for Christ's sake. John contrasts this heavenly crown with the earthly crown placed on the head at death of those priests. He places it on the head of those that are victorious in the midst of suffering over evil. It is the vision of a crown, the crown of life given to the overcomer, who inspires these faithful believers to endure facing death itself.

Receiving this crown of life has motivated believers through the centuries when the journey is long, when the road is rough, and when you go through the dark valley of suffering. Remember this: there is a crown of life for you at the end of the road. Death is not the end. The grave is not a dark night with no morning at the end.

The church at Smyrna existed at a time of great suffering. In fact, it means "sweet-smelling incense." The very word Smyrna describes a people who faced suffering, who faced difficulty, and who faced hardship for Christ. During this time, the Roman government had a festivity that happened once a year. All citizens had to come to the center of the city and burn incense to the gods. If you were living in Smyrna, you'd have to burn incense to Dionysus.

Polycarp, 86 years old, was one of the pastors of the church at Smyrna. Polycarp was taken at 86 to the center of the square in Smyrna. There, he was urged to give up his Christian faith. He stretched out his hands before the crying crowd and said, "How can I deny my Lord, who for these 86 years has been so faithful to me?" He was burned at the stake that day.

What gave him such death-defying faith? What gave him such confidence in the midst of such incredible suffering? He believed that one day, he would have a crown of life. It has been this concept that life is not the end but that beyond this life, there is an eternity. Believers can look forward to that crown of life.

I think of John Huss. Some of you have read the story of John Huss, a faithful man of God. In the Middle Ages, he was an excellent example of loyalty in the face of suffering, imprisonment, and death. He was tried for his faith at the Council of Constance. He was burned at the stake on July 6, 1415. He had been imprisoned for a year in a dark, damp, dingy, cold dungeon.

He was feeble in health, taken out of that dungeon and brought to the Council of Constance. He was brought before nobles, priests, and prelates. In the sentence in which they sentenced him to death, he had been a Catholic priest but had left Catholicism and was now faithful to Christ. They clothed him in his priestly vestments and began ripping off those vestments one at a time.

Finally, they put a miter on his head. It was like a paper bag miter, a papier-mâché miter actually. On that miter, they had pictures of demons and all kinds of hideous pictures. They said on it, "Arch-heretic." As these vestments were moved one by one and they were condemning his soul to eternal torment—which they believed, but which of course is not a biblical doctrine—he said, "Most joyfully I will wear the crown of shame for Thy sake, O Jesus, who didst wear the crown of thorns."

Jesus wore this crown of thorns. A friend of mine sent me from Israel thorns from the kind of bush that must have been jammed upon Christ's head and then pounded down. You can just imagine the thorns going into the skull, the blood bleeding down Christ's face. Jesus took the crown of thorns so you and I could wear the crown of life. Huss wore the crown of shame, looking forward to wearing the crown of life.

The crown of life motivates us in times of pain, suffering, and sickness when facing death itself. It helps us understand that one day, we will see Jesus, the life-giver. One day, we will experience life with Christ through all eternity. The crown of life speaks to us in the 21st century, saying: don't give up, hang on, keep the faith. You may go through trials now, but death is not the end. There is a crown of life waiting for you.

Guest (Male): We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. We thank you for listening and hope you're enjoying today's message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers and effectively share with confidence His life-changing truths with others. You can support this ministry and help us reach even more by going to HopeLives365.com/donate. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: The crown of life represents life through Jesus Christ forever. Thomas Guthrie, an outstanding biblical theologian and writer, wrote these words: "Eternal life is deliverance from eternal death, deliverance from the curse of breaking God's law, deliverance from the doom of being eternally lost. Eternal life is eternal blessedness, the pardon from sin's guilt and freedom from sin's power, the pleasures of a pure heart and the enjoyment of peace with God, joy without any bitterness, riches without cost, health that never sickens, life that never dies, and a glory hereafter that never fades away—perfect holiness in the likeness of our Savior and perfect happiness in the presence of God."

When the journey is long and the road is rough, remember there is a crown of life waiting for you. When you are going through life's challenges, remember that there is a crown of life waiting for you. When darkness surrounds you and discouragement overwhelms you, there is a crown of life waiting for you.

But this leads us to the second of these crowns: 1 Corinthians chapter nine, verse 25. Every one who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we do it for an imperishable crown. So the title of this crown is an imperishable crown.

Greece had three great sporting events in the time of the Apostle Paul. The first sporting event was the Olympic Games. The second sporting event was the Pythian Games, and the third sporting event was the Isthmian Games. These sporting events would often have chariot races, foot races, boxing contests, and other sporting events. These athletic contests did not award gold, silver, and bronze medals. They awarded a wreath, a beautiful laurel wreath.

Paul thought about that laurel wreath. These athletes entered the games with their best effort to win the prize. They used all their skill and all their stamina to compete. They had extensive training. None of them was indifferent. They were not lethargic. They were not careless. They strained every muscle. They used every ounce of their energy. They exerted all their strength to win the ultimate prize, the laurel wreath.

Yet after a period of time, their laurel wreath faded. The flowers wilted. The fragrance was gone. The drooping petals became brown and fell to the ground. The Apostle Paul contrasted these perishable crowns with the imperishable crown that Christ will be willing to give to His victorious people.

Here is Paul's point in this illustration: if they were willing to spend so much time, if they were willing to spend so much effort, if they were not lethargic, if they were not careless, if they were not complacent about receiving some wreath to put on top of their head when those flowers would fade, how much more should we be diligent in seeking for the imperishable crown? If they were willing to put this much time and this much effort into their training to exert this energy for a mere perishable crown, how much more should be our efforts to receive an imperishable crown?

The imperishable crown is given to those who, through self-denial and perseverance, fix their minds on eternal values. Most things in life that we consider important today are going to perish. They will pass away. They are temporary. They're going to go up in smoke at the return of our Lord.

There is a fascinating story that comes from 1870. Some people question this story because it is about the cathedral in Milan. As you can see, the cathedral in Milan has five doors. But this story is about the center three doors. The door on the left of center had in it, according to the story, a carving, a beautiful carving of roses—a bouquet of roses. And there were these words etched in the wood over the door: "Everything that pleases you is only temporary." In other words, obviously, you've got this beautiful bouquet of roses, but it's temporary.

Then, etched over the door to the right of the center door was a cross. And the words on that cross were: "All that troubles you is temporary." You got it? Left door: "All that pleases you is but temporary for a moment." Right door: "All that troubles you is temporary." And over the center door, the inscription read: "That only endures which is eternal."

The imperishable crown motivates us to place eternal values first in our lives. As Jesus said, "Seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things will be added unto you." The things of time perish, but the things of eternity last forever. The best effort you can make is an effort to invest our time, our energy, and our finances into things of eternity because the things of time are going to pass away, but the things of eternity will last forever. The imperishable crown is a reminder of those things that last forever when the temporary and the transitory attract you.

Third crown: 2 Timothy chapter four, verse eight. Finally, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not to me only but to all those who love His appearing.

Who receives the crown of righteousness? Those that love the appearing of Christ, those that live in the light of the second advent, those that live in expectation of Jesus coming. When the Apostle Paul wrote these words, he was in that dark, damp dungeon, but his faith never faded. His hope never dimmed. His courage never faltered because by faith, he looked forward to the day that Christ would give him the crown of righteousness.

Have you ever watched a lion tamer tame lions? Have you ever seen how they do that? They're training this lion for the circus, and certainly, the lion trainer has a whip and a gun, but he's got to train this ferocious lion. The surprising thing is he walks in there with a stool. What's he going to do? Sit on that stool and say, "Nice lion, nice lion"? Not at all. He takes the stool by the seat of the stool and he holds the stool to the face of the lion. Why?

How many legs does a stool have? Four. The lion does not know where to focus. So the lion sees those four legs, and the lion becomes incredibly confused. He doesn't attack the man because he's so distracted. He looks at this one leg, looks at this other leg, and the lion is kind of mystified. He's kind of paralyzed in his action. When he's distracted by that, the lion trainer can tame him.

Now, I've found that that's kind of the way it is with faith with some people. We come to church, we're inspired, we leave here with lion-like faith. We can tame the enemy. But when we leave, life comes at us all over again. Circumstances push a four-legged stool in our face: our jobs, our money, our marriage, our school, and whatever else is staring us in the face. Our faith gets tamed and weak, even at times disabled, because we've lost focus.

Ellen White makes an interesting comment where she says this: "I have questioned in my mind as I've seen the people in our cities hurrying to and fro with business whether they ever have thought of the day of God that is just upon us. Every one of us should be living with reference to the great day which is soon to come upon us."

When Paul was in prison, he's living in reference to the day that the crown of righteousness will be placed upon his head. We cannot afford to live with no reference to the day of judgment, for though long delayed, it is now near, even at the door. The trumpet of the archangel will soon startle the living and wake the dead.

What is the crown of righteousness all about? It is about righteous living because the crown of righteousness will not be put on the head of a man or woman who is willfully, knowingly sinning against God. It is a crown of righteousness, not a crown of infidelity, not a crown of impurity, not a crown of dishonesty, not a crown of lying. It is a crown of righteousness.

We look forward to living in the light of the advent, living in the light of the coming of Jesus Christ. The crown of righteousness motivates us to keep the second coming of Christ before our eyes. It inspires us to live in expectation of the advent. It speaks to us: stay focused, don't let your eyes get off the goal. Jesus is coming again, and never ever forget it.

The fourth crown is the crown of glory: 1 Peter chapter five, verse four. The crown of life speaks to us of courage in the face of trial and difficulty. The imperishable crown tells us to place emphasis on the things of eternity, not the things of time. The crown of righteousness inspires us to hang on, to know that Christ is coming.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at HopeLives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to HopeLives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.

Mark Finley: One day in that land called heaven, one day in that place called eternity, one day we will cast our crowns at His feet.