Retaining Your Crown

Rev 4:10-11  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, 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. 

A crown is a reward given for some achievement or that which is worn to signify  a person's position of importance or to announce the office of an individual.

When we have worked hard to attained some great achievement in life, the tendency to look at the mirror and applaud ourselves is only natural. We look at the effort we have put in to get there and feel good that at last, it was all worth-while. This self appreciation that envelops us, is only a natural reaction that humanity has adopted. In fact the lack of recognition of the efforts we put in, leaves us feeling sad. The point remains that men will always desire recognition for every input they made towards the success of a venture. We insist that our names be written, our achievements be heralded, and our efforts noted. 

While this tendency remains human, we have all seen men who take this issue of self recognition to a whole new level. For instance, we all may have met those men, who if you introduce them without their titles are offended. They are loud about their achievements and accomplishments.Note that such men who display all that they have and all that they are are small men!

The error of this way of thinking is that some individuals in the attainment of their goals in life forget God.Nebuchadnezzar was such a man. In the book of Dan 4:30 he uttered a statement that did not acknowledge God's input in his life. Hear him: The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? This statement, expressing the pride in his heart, cost him his throne for a season.

 Several personalities as recorded in the bible, also towed this line, and the result was always the same. Herod did not acknowledge God and was eaten by worms. Lucifer looked at all God had made him and sought even more than his station was, losing sight of  the honor that is due to  the one that made him all that he is. Whatever made them who they were, was lost because they did not know how to lay it all down at the feet of their creator. Nebuchadnezzar who lost his throne for a season only had it restored when he acknowledged the God of heaven. 

In our main scriptural text above, we see a practice around the throne of God that made the 24 elders able to retain their crowns even in the very presence of the King of kings. 

These elders, knew that no matter what they had become, He was the one that made them that! They acknowledged this openly and unashamedly. They took their crowns, they very symbol of their achievements, and cast it at His feet. They knew that without His help, they would not be here in the first place. They knew that even though they had become partakers of His glory, that He and only He, ought to receive all the praise and worship. They cast their crowns and for that act, they became worthy to retain their crowns.

Friends, sometimes our achievements or accomplishments blind us. We feel we got it all by our skill, intelligence, hard-work or self effort. The term self made man is common place in our time because we fail to see a need to lay it down at the feet of God. Many have failed to see how God sustained them through the process and have held on to such titles.  

The thought I would like you to leave this page with is this:

Men who discard their importance before Him are counted worthy of more relevance to the kingdom. John the Baptist who sought to decrease for the increase of Jesus, was regarded as a burning and a shining light. Jesus said of him in Luk 7:28  For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist..

Lay down your crown before him today. Learn to acknowledge God and praise Him for his help in your life. You can be sure to retain the crown but you must learn to cast it before Him. 

That's the only way to retain your crown. Worship and Praise Him for all He has done for You!