Revelation chapter 4. We've been going through a series on the crowns that are spoken of in Revelation chapter 4 verses 10 and 11. So let's read. Revelation chapter 4 verse 10. Now these 420 elders, if you're looking at in Revelation chapter 21, you're looking at the walls and the floor of that New Jerusalem, the 12 walls are the names of the children of Israel, the 12 foundations there are the names of the apostles there. So it's reasonable to conclude that the 420 elders represent both Old Testament and New Testament believers. It's reasonable to conclude that. So these 420 elders, Old Testament and New Testament, fall down before Him that sat on the throne and worship Him that liveth forever and ever. So we have to conclude rapidly that this is God Almighty that's sitting on the throne. And they worship Him that liveth forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne. saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. So again, we've been discussing the crowns, and today we're going to be looking at the crown of life, the crown of life, okay? So before we jump into what is the crown of life and how is this received and what does it do, we have to understand, again, rehearsing what crowns are in the first place. These crowns are symbolic of worship. It says that they worship him that liveth forever and cast their crowns. So the crowns are associated with worship. To worship means to reverence, there's no doubt about that, to reverence. Some people worship the dollar, they reverence it, they hold it higher than other things. Some people worship their kids, they reverence them, they hold them higher than other things. I was a member of a church for a while, and it seemed like whenever a certain person would, she was a member, and she would show once a month or so, and when she would show up, she had her daughter with her, and when her daughter was with her, the entire extended family was there. Grandma was there. Uncle was there. Grandpa was there. All these people were there. So it appeared that they were not there to worship God, they were there to worship the granddaughter. So my brothers and I, being the stinkers that we were, renamed the church Whitley Baptist Church because that was her name, was Whitley. When Whitley was there, more people showed up, Whitley Baptist Church. But they reverenced her. They elevated her. They set their affections upon her. this scenario, true worship, true reverence is given to Him that liveth forever, Him that sat on the throne. And it says they fell down before Him, so the next definition, to fall prostrate or on your knees, that's a symbolism of obeisance there, to show differential honor, meaning to prefer that thing before their own selves or before any other thing. I mean, that's a natural condition. In a certain exercise, there's a posture called Child's Pose. In Child's Pose, one bows down or kneels before the other. It's a show of reverence. It's a show of adoration. It's a show of respect, you see, to make honor unto one another. So they're bowing down. They're making themselves prostrate. They bow down before Him. but they're also showing their homage. They're showing a particular respect or a differential respect unto God as unto none other, okay? And this is what the entire issue of these crowns really is, is giving preference to God above any other, truly worshiping Him. Respecting Him and worshiping Him as far as His person, His rank, His office and His qualities. Everything about Him, they worship Him, they reverence Him, they fall down before Him, they cast their crowns, and these crowns are symbolic of how they live their lives. I believe they're actual crowns, but these crowns are also symbolic of their lives. I didn't mention the other thing that people worship or reverence, and it's the most obvious, is themselves. They prefer themselves before anyone else. You just watch traffic or drive around for just a little while and you'll know that people prefer themselves over others. They prefer themselves over every other thing. In the fall, Adam and Eve preferred themselves and their thoughts and ideas before they preferred the thoughts and ideas of God Almighty. God said, don't eat it. They preferred to eat it, so they did. They reverenced themselves. They did not worship God. They worshiped themselves, and that led to the fall. So when they said to cast down or to turn over, There's several reasons listed right here in the scripture. Again, we'll be talking about the crown of life. So keep these things in your mind. There's several reasons. that they turn over these crowns. First and foremost, they first mention here that for His eternality, Him that liveth forever, there's only one self-existing being that has eternal quality, and that is God Himself. No one else does. So for Him to exist in eternity past and to exist in eternity future, He has to be God, and there is none other. There is none other. So if someone is to live forever, it's because of the eternality of God who is able to keep them from falling. they worship Him because of His worthiness. There's no other value. People, earlier we voted to do some remodeling. Well, value was at stake. Is it worth this or is it worth that value? Transitioning an amount for services rendered of value. Well what value has a higher value? What thing has a higher value than God Almighty Himself? There is none other that has a higher value. None. None is worthy to be worshipped other than God. None has a higher worthiness or a higher value. For glory, he said, thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory. Splendor and majesty, who else can be adored and who else can be arrayed in such splendor as with what God arrays himself in all his glory? Surely there's none. Honor. a price, or the worthiness, and it has the same sense of worthiness, thou art worthy, but this honor has to do specifically with his rank and his office as Christ. There is no one that could fill the job of God if it were even possible that he could step down. Now in my job, if I died right now, they would have an ad in the paper from my job before my obituary hit broussards, you know what I mean? I could be replaced, but there is no replacement of God. He has an honorability that none other has, and it's not even possible that He would be removed from His place, so please don't take it that I'm saying that at all. As far as power, thou hast power. Yes, power and ability. He has power to do as he pleases. No one can stay his hand or grab it and pull it back. Nobody can stop him, or nobody can even question, what doest thou? Now, men ask that all the time. God, what are you doing? What were you thinking? But it has no merit before him. It has no deterrence of his power at all whatsoever. His creative ability, thou hast created all things. Yes, in the creation, Genesis 1.1, He created all things. He spoke it and it came into existence. But also in the creation here, specific to these people who are worshiping, He created a new creature, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. It says that if any man be in Christ, they are a new creature, a new creation. Okay, so he does those things for his pleasure, and for his pleasure they were created. So admiring him in his pleasure, that is another reason why these people are worshiping him. That he both commands and he accomplishes all those things that he has set forth. He's worthy to cast crowns before him. Now the crown of life, you can see it, if you just turn the page over into Revelation chapter two, You see in Revelation chapter two, the crown of life is spoken of. This crown, one of these crowns that'll be cast before the feet of God, before his throne. Revelation chapter two in verse 10 says, fear none of those things, excuse me, back up to verse nine. I know that works in tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich. And I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan. 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." So there is your first portion of clues to what the crown of life has to do with. The second portion of clues, if you look in James chapter one, James chapter one, And verse 12, James chapter one, verse 12. Blessed is the man or woman, person, that endureth temptation. For when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Okay, so you see a couple things that are involved here. You see endurance, you see patience, you see, You see someone who is going through trial. You see someone who is going through something. You see faithfulness unto death, and you also see love, okay? And that was mentioned in chapter of James 1 and 12. He said, it is promised to them that love him. Now that word love is that agape of love, okay? So when people say they love things, that word love is thrown around a lot. Oh, I love Nevrovskis. I love their onion rings. Well, I might not love them so much tomorrow. I might love the taste of them, but I might not love what they do to my body. So I'm not gonna eat them as much as I would want to. And all that stuff is conditional, you see. When people say they love something, think about it in the context of a relationship. If somebody says, oh, I love you, And then years down the road, they say, well, I don't love you anymore. Well, they're not saying I don't love you anymore. What they're saying is I never loved you in the first place. Love. Because love is not conditional upon circumstances. Love is not conditional based on how I feel. And that sounds, wait, what did he just say? That's right. Love, true love is not based on how I feel. based on what's happening, but it's a decision, okay? It's a commitment. God loves me because he committed himself unto that love, unto me. Does that make sense? He doesn't love me based on how I treat him. He doesn't love me based on how I perform for him. If he did, he wouldn't love me at all. Ever could he not. He would never love me. That's not love. But the love that is spoken of in James chapter 12 And James chapter one, rather, in verse 12, is a love that overcomes adversity, and it's a love in spite of circumstances. It's a love that has endurance. It's a love that pursues through temptation. It is a faithful perseverance. Think about that couple that perhaps one might start to think, oh, I don't love you anymore. Well, what true love does is loves in spite of the other person. And that's what love did to me. That's how God loves me. He loves me in spite of me. So if someone has committed unto love in a relationship, they love in spite of the flaws of that other person. This love that brings the crown of life loves in spite of circumstances. It loves in spite of temptations. It loves in spite of everything. That love is based on and it's a commitment unto God. It says, to them that love. Who? Him. So the love of God, then, cannot be generated in man. The love of God, toward God, has to be generated by God in man. Does that make sense? Man cannot will himself to love God because then it would be based on something. It would be based on man's will. And man's will is fickle. So this love, we have to understand, if someone's gonna have a crown of life, they must be born again. And that just makes sense. It just makes sense that someone would be a saved person, born again. The crown of life, faithful perseverance. Faithful perseverance. Now you can't persevere in something that you haven't engaged in, so we have to understand that someone, and we're gonna go through these verses. In James chapter one, we'll start there. In James chapter one, verses one through 12, the gist of what he's saying here is that the trials of life that are consequential to the fall, okay, cannot be avoided. The trials of life consequential to the fall cannot be avoided in this present life. Therefore, the believer is encouraged to endure them. But specifically, a person who is a believer will have a pressing or a love toward Christ, which will bring added affliction to the flesh." Okay, what are we saying? If someone, everyone gets flat tires, everybody gets sore teeth, everybody gets a head cold, everybody, you know, there are things that are common in all men and women, okay? But what he's saying here is if someone is living for the Lord Jesus Christ and has a love of God because of salvation, then that will be manifested in their lives and there will be additional issues that they have in their lives. You see, there'll be additional adversity. There'll be additional enemies or controversy. These things will be common to believers. And he says, endure these things. Blessed is that man that endureth temptation or these trials. So let's read James chapter one. begin reading in verse one, James is servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the tribes which are scattered abroad greeting. So verse one gives us quite a bit of information. This person, James, he's the half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? They had the same mother. And being called a servant doesn't just mean that he pays lip service to, but that he is to do the bidding or the will of his master, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? So for a brother or a half-brother to say that he's the servant of this guy means that his earthly relationship is surpassed by the heavenly. In his conversion, he then is the servant or to do the will or the bidding of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when he says, my brethren, he's talking to Jews, to the tribes that are scattered abroad, but he's also speaking to them in a spiritual sense. He's writing to saved people. okay? Save people. My brother, encounter all joy when you fall into divers temptations. So in verses 13 through 15, He's gonna be speaking of these trials that are sourced in our own hearts, the things that we bring upon our own selves. When we allow the door of temptation to open up and look out the window there and see all the things we can get into, and then it's gonna conceive and bring forth death, and this whole life cycle of sin that brings forth death, these are separate issues, okay? So it's not what he's talking about under the crown of life. But the crown of life that he's spoken of in James 1, verse 12, blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he has tried, he shall receive a crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him, is of that same line of thinking that we read about in Revelation 2. That blessed man who endures temptation. Again, think of the church of Smyrna. Smyrna was a prosperous city. but these people in Smyrna were not so prosperous. Why not? Because they would not bow into Roman imperialism. They would not submit to worshiping the emperor of Rome as a deity. They would not go onto what is called the synagogue of Satan. They would not go into these false worship centers and engage themselves. And so because they would not do that, there were political implications. There were also financial implications, okay? They were poor. Look at what we just read in Revelation chapter two, verse nine. It says, I know thy works. Meaning, I know you're continuing in the love of God at Smyrna. And tribulation, I know how you're pressed because you continue in the work of God in Smyrna. and poverty. I know because you're oppressed and you continue in the work of God in Smyrna that you are not found within certain societal circles and you are truly living in poverty without. He said, but thou art rich. How so? Because they continue in the love of God. And I know that blasphemy of them would say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan. So because they were continuing in these things and they had endurance, In verse 10, we see that some of them were thrown in the prison and some of them were gonna die. So when we're talking about the crown of life, we're not just talking about, oh man, I can't believe that I got another flat tire. Oh man, I can't pay my bills, I must be headed for a crown of life. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about people who for the cause of Christ are pressed into serving him and will have adversity in doing those things and pursuing even in the course or through that adversity. Polycarp was a pastor of Smyrna and he was burned alive and he said just before his death, four and score years, four score and six years have I served him, the Lord, and he has never done me injury. How then can I now blaspheme my King and my Savior? This man endured temptation, and he was indeed faithful unto death. The believers of Smyrna were going through some persecution. They'd been in poverty. They were losing status, okay? And they held the doctrines of Christ. They were persecuted by those who were pagan, and they were persecuted by those who said they're Jews, but they were not. These people were not by any means perfect, but they were those that endured afflictions. They for sure were. You know, when we studied through the Church of Pergamos, Pergamos was right down the road, and the Church of Pergamos, they were giving over to the doctrine of Balak and the doctrine of Balaam, and they let everything go. And they said, you know what? We can be antinomian, and we got the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Because of grace, we can do whatever we want. We don't have to hold to anything. And what a contrast to those here in Smyrna. that simply endured, that simply continued in the word of God. In James chapter one, again, he says, in James chapter one and verse two, he said, my brethren, count it all joy, be cheerful, be cheerful when various temptations, various trials, various circumstances come upon you. And they will, okay, they will. That's easy to say, but it's very hard to live with all manner of temptations, with all diverse temptations, all manner of circumstances fall upon you to continue and to be enduring in the service and in the love of God. It's difficult. It's difficult. Okay, well think about the love that we brought up in chapter 1 verse 12 here of James. You know, people say they love something. Well, that love is conditional. You know, it really is. But this love is to press through, to press through and continue, endure. Diverse temptations, diverse struggles, different kinds of struggles. How do circumstances materialize in our lives or how do we perceive them? That's an excellent question, isn't it? What happens when things happen to us? Do we continue in loving God or serving God, or do we get discouraged and find other things to do? No, when these things happen, he says in the very next verse, knowing this, that the trying of your faith, or the testing, the proving of your faith, that conviction of living by faith, the conviction of the truth and standing in it, that trying of your faith, worketh in patience. It works endurance. And this is critical. The crown of life is not for those who merely live in squalor. It's not merely for those who are without or in poverty. It's not merely for those who have frequent trouble, but it's for those who endure those things, serving God, continuing, trusting God, and doing what he says. not simply for the downtrodden or those with different sets of disease. This crown, as we're reminded, is a God-honoring crown. Those that endure, blessed is the man that endureth temptation. Therefore, the crown of life must be one that is pointed to Christ and not unto ourselves. It can't be, because otherwise I would encourage you all to sell everything you had and live in absolute poverty so that you would have a crown of life. That's not what he's saying. It must be one that shows forth endurance and faith in Christ. Joyful cheerfulness in the work of Christ. Knowing this, the trying of your faith. When you live by faith, you will be tested in it. Okay? You will be tested in it. Think about it in a form of exercise. If someone is trying to lift heavy weight, The trying of their strength will bring more strength. The more weight you lift, the more weight you lift, you see. The trying of your faith worketh patience, endurance. That patience, a steadfastness, a perseverance, a constancy. You think about the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt. They were first given Sion, as a king over that realm, and they weren't much of a military issue, but then came Og, and they were giants. So the Lord gave them, he strengthened them by military conquest and by military conquest, and neither one of them, comparatively, were anything compared to the Philistines. Remember how he didn't take them by the north, but around through the south. The Lord giving them faith, he did try them in their faith, he strengthened them in their faith, and he gave them endurance or patience in their faith. And it will happen. If someone says they're a child of God and they have faith but they're never strengthened in their faith, well, are they living by faith? And is that faith, does it work? Is their living by faith, has it brought trying or testing thereof? He says, with all certainty, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. So if someone is not growing in patience or endurance, we must conclude that they're not living by faith. Have to conclude that. not walking, you know, not living by faith, there is no trial. What's the trial of not living by faith? But truly living by faith, it will work patience. It will. It worketh patience. That's the Word of God. It says it works patience. Through all manner of trials, testings, pressings, Through loss, through challenges, through everything in life, the trying of your faith worketh patience. And that patience ultimately will bring us to chapter one, verse 12, that endurance and temptation. What can happen if someone is living by faith? What can happen if someone truly loves God by the power of God and salvation? Truly, what can distract them or what can pull them from living by faith? It would have to be their own sinfulness. It would have to be my own sinfulness. Trying of your faith, work of patience. So if you desire, and as we go along here, if you desire this crown of life, I encourage you to live by faith. If you live by faith, the rest will take care of itself. Let patience have her perfect work. Now, sometimes we don't like to do this, let patience have her perfect work. If we have faith that works patience, we should live like it, right? In the flesh, it's easier to not live by faith so that that faith never tried. It's easier in the flesh to do that. It's easier. to never be called upon to endure. It's easier. It's easier not to run that race than at the last run a little harder. It's easier on the flesh. But if you have faith in Christ unto patience or steadfastness, that faith will have its perfect work. You will have endurance. You will have patience. Let patience have her perfect work. You know, again, in the flesh, a lot of times when we don't have the endurance, it's because we ourselves pull back from living by faith because we do not want to be tried in a practical sense. Having a living testimony at work is difficult because what if somebody disagrees? It's a whole lot easier to keep your mouth shut, especially around holiday time. It's a whole lot easier to keep your mouth shut than it is to say something and have your faith tried, and maybe even get banged up or bruised a little bit. That endurance. Well, let me tell you something, y'all. I really believe that the coming of the Lord is at hand, but I believe it's gonna get difficult for the children of God before that. So let me ask you about the trying of your faith at work with patience and endurance. If in a cordial setting, at work or at school, you find it difficult to talk about the Lord, what in the world is it going to be when anything goes and people are putting hands on one another because of the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you think you're just going to all of a sudden wake up and say, oh, you know, here it is? No. He says right here that the Lord prepares his people and he does that through the trying of your faith. He will give you grace in that hour and that day. But you should also desire to live by faith and take personal responsibility, depending on God, that he will give you endurance. And not pulling back, saying, you know what? God's going to give me grace in that hour, so I'm just going to lay down and do nothing right now. Is that what James is telling these people? That's certainly not what he's telling me. That you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. No, God has a process for perfecting His people, and that is through the trying of your faith that worketh patience. It is, that's how He does that, He does that. What could be the problem in the circumstances of life, having a thermostat fixed on joy? What is the problem? What I mean by thermostat, it was cold in here earlier, we changed the thermostat, now it's warmer, right? A thermostat sets the temperature in the room. Well, the love of God ought to set the temperature in your heart. So if a thermostat is set on love, then living by faith, loving the Lord, and enduring unto death ought to be the natural setting of that thermostat set on love. If the thermostat is set on self, or it's set on I don't want to, or set on anything else, then there's a lot of variability of which way things will go, you see. What does the thermostat set on you? He says here, let patience have her perfect work. So then how do we let patience have her perfect work? Live by faith. Trust God and do what he says. That's how you let patience have her perfect work. If any of you like wisdom, What is wisdom? It's a broad and full knowledge of understanding. It's the skill in managing and navigating the affairs of life. That's what wisdom is. It's not simply general intelligence. There's a lot of people who are foolish in their intelligence, but this is managing and navigating the circumstances of life, those diverse temptations, trusting God, doing what he says, living by faith, and that faith being worked in endurance. If you don't know what to do, he says, any of y'all lack wisdom. If anybody doesn't know how to manage or navigate the affairs of life, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. How? It won't be according to man's understanding. It will be trusting God and doing what he says. Crown of life. In Proverbs chapter nine, it talks about wisdom. Just a short verse here. Proverbs chapter nine. Why don't you put your eyeballs on it? Proverbs chapter 9 and verse 10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Why do we fear God? Because He's holy and we're not. And the knowledge of the Holy, Holy One, is understanding. trusting God, doing what he says, knowing that his ways are higher than our ways, trusting God and doing what he says, continuing. If any of you lack wisdom, meaning if you don't know, if according to the flesh, you think you know how to manage and navigate the affairs of life, but you don't understand truly in the fear of God how to manage and navigate the affairs of life, then ask God and in his word, he will show you how to manage and navigate the affairs of your life according to thus saith the Lord. It shall be given him, not in a dream, not in a vision, not in the clouds, not in the stars, in the Word of God. Live by faith. Endure. Okay, so if any of you lack wisdom, continue in the things of God. Endure in the things of God through poverty, through trial, through circumstance, in all manner of living. He's gonna tell him in just a minute, if any of you who are low, if you're raised up, thank God. If any of you are high and you're brought low, thank God. In all manner of living, in all manner of living, trust God and do what he says. Let him ask nothing, he says. In wavering, this is verse six, James chapter one, verse six. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. If you're asking for wisdom just so you can get ahead in life, then that's a double-minded man, he says. Verses seven and eight. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. He might think, you know what, Solomon, he asked for wisdom and he got a kingdom. Maybe if I ask for wisdom, I'll get a kingdom too. That's a double-minded man. No, the asking here, again, is that the Lord would tell, through the word of God, according to his spirit, the child of God, how to live in this present world, being faithful unto death. Revelation chapter 2, that's exactly what he said to the church there at Smyrna. Fear none of these things, which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried, and you shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Trusting God, doing what he says in all manner of circumstances. All manner of circumstances. You don't know what to do? Trust God, do what he says. Trust him and do what he says. But that doesn't make sense. Well, trust God until it does make sense and do what he said. He says, but the rich, verse 10, but the rich, James chapter one, verse 10, but the rich in that he is made low, excuse me, verse nine, let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted, but let the rich in that he is made low because as the flower of the grass, he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth. And the grace of the fashion of it perisheth. So also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. What in the world is he talking about? Well, the riches of this world won't last forever, and poverty won't even. Serving God, trusting God. Trust Him in all manner of things, whether you're brought low, or you stay low, or you're brought high, or you stay high, whatever the case, rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice and be glad with all gladness, with all gladness in all manner of temptations, because guess what? There's temptations for the high and for the low. Those that have a little bit of means, they got temptations, and those that don't, they have temptations too. There's all manner of temptations, and all these things live by faith. Continue. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, no matter what station they are in. Blessed is that man that, living by faith and the trying of their faith, that their patience or endurance is worked out in this present world. Endure. Let patience have her perfect work. Continue in these things. Trust God and do what He says. He's not saying those who experience hard times will receive the crown of life. That's not what he's saying, again, because there's all manner of unsafe people that experience hard times. The church of Smyrna, the people had real problems. They had real persecutions. They had real poverty. They had real issues according to politics. They had real things going on because of their stand in the truth. That is why they had these things. It wasn't for any other reason. It's because they continued and they endured and trust in God and they continued in the love of God and they would not conform to the world around them. They stood out as servants of God. They endured. They suffered because of these things and that they persevered in their faith as James. It says that they counted it all joy. Now in their counting it all joy because they were sinners, they also had a little bit of fear in them because he tells them Fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer. Okay? Now, if you marry the two passages here, in all manner of trials, child of God, have no fear. Have no fear. In all manner of trials, know that you will suffer. He says, fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Now, your sufferings might not be the same as the church of Smyrna. They might not be. They might be worse, I can't tell you that. I can't tell you what's in store for those in this life that trust God and do what he says. I know the minds of men are extremely wicked and there are all types of things that people can do to other people. Trust me, I've seen what a mother can do to her child. I cannot tell you what things thou shalt suffer, but I can tell you this, that if you're living by faith, trusting God and doing what he says, you will suffer in this life. That suffering might come so simply as someone laughing at you. Sister Jill was talking to somebody at Walmart the other day in the middle of the conversation, lady just kind of laughed at her and walked away. Yeah, that hurts. It hurts. Suffering might come in different forms in time to come. The crown of life is for those that love Him, that love Him, that count on all joy at the trying of your faith-working patience. Some people are easy quitters. First sign of trouble, boom, they're out of there, they quit. Those that love God are not easy quitters. In fact, they don't quit at all. Can't quit. There's no retirement plan. There is none. Faithful unto death is what Jesus told them. There's no backdoor. There's no plan B. This is all we got because He is all we have. The love of God. Faithful unto death. The crown of life is in the love Him. And I'm not talking about that love that comes and goes. Love, every day, all day long, trusting God, doing what He says, and when those things come, they keep loving God, and they keep trusting God, and they keep doing what He says. This is who that crown of life is for. The love, that love that's fixed upon Jesus Christ, nothing wavering, love. That love you can read through Fox's Book of Mondays, that love that in spite of these monsters doing all manner of things to these people and to their children and to their families and all horrific types of acts, that love is fixed on Christ, unwavering. Love, faithful unto death. Loving Christ through the testing and strengthening of our faith, bringing patience or endurance. Well, at some point, that endurance is gonna end. When does it end? It ends in death. Now, one of the things you look forward to, again, going back to the exercise metaphor, if you're exercising, one of the things you look forward to, one of the best things about exercise is when it's over. When that mile is over, or when that workout is over, or when that weight is finally set down, you look forward to that. When does endurance end? For the child of God, death. Death, faithful unto death. Crown of life, faithful unto death. Loving the Lord Jesus Christ will bring us wisdom in doing this, in all manner of circumstances. Not simply knowing what the Bible says, or not even simply believing what the Bible says, but for the love of God, living it. Trusting God and doing what he says. This is the instruction manual for the crown of life. When he has tried, if one is living by faith, truly expressing the love of God in this present world, there will be trial. Again, diverse temptations are inevitable. If you're living for God and you truly are trusting God and living for Him, temptations are inevitable. Then the trial of your faith is inevitable. Will you sit down and shut up or will you stand up and go forward? The working out of his patience or endurance is inevitable. You will, the Lord will strengthen you. You will continue. You will grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. If someone is the same believer that they were years ago, then that means they're not living by faith because there will be growth. If someone is living by faith, there will be adversity, which will bring endurance, which will evidence in growth. Patience, having a perfect work, it will be inevitable. It will be observable. Blessedness for endurance then will be inevitable. In James chapter one, again in verse 12, we just read it. The blessedness here, if someone is having their patience worked out being inevitable, then blessedness, blessed is the man that endureth temptation. That blessedness. and for endurance is inevitable. Child of God, live by faith. If blessedness and endurance and trusting God and doing what he says is inevitable, through pressing, through trying, through working out of patience, through that perfection, but let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect in attire wanting nothing. If these things are inevitable for someone who is truly living by faith, Blessed is the man that endures temptation, for when he has tried, trials will come. He shall receive the crown of life. The crown of life is inevitable. There's no mysterious formula for how to receive the crown of life. Just live it. Live it. Trials will come. Temptation will come. Adversity will come. Patience. Working out patience will come. It'll come. It'll have its perfect work. If you don't know how to do it, ask God. He'll tell you how to do it. In His word, it'll come. The crown of life is inevitable. For when He has tried, He shall receive the crown of life. You know how I know it's inevitable? Which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him. Christ Almighty promised this. He promised it to them that love Him. It's not to them that say they love Him. It's to them that love Him, that trust Him, and do what He says. Crown of life. Crown of life. Don't be fearful. You will suffer. That's what He says in Revelation chapter 2. You will suffer. The devil shall cast some of you into prison. True. Oppression may be at the door. I don't know. The Lord's people have, and I really believe this, some say that, oh yes, we've been given such a space of liberty over the past 50 or 60 years. Have we been given a space of liberty over the past 50 or 60 years? It's because people aren't truly living by faith, there's no adversity to be had. There's no trial of faith because there's no living by faith. The world is as evil as it's ever been. and yet we don't have any trying of our faith? How in the world could that be? Is it because we're not living by faith? Consider, trial is coming, tribulation and pressing is coming. Will you be faithful unto death? Well, are you faithful in your life? You can't be faithful unto death if you're not faithful in your life. That just makes sense. Those who are faithful unto death are promised a crown of life. I encourage you to be faithful in your life. that you would be faithful unto death. How serious, then, here's a question. How serious are you about loving the Lord? Oh boy. How serious are you about living by faith? How serious are you about it? Is it something that, oh yeah, we start thinking about it Saturday night, and Sunday we go hear that guy preach to us for a couple hours, and then, oh yeah, we reflect on it Sunday evening, and then Monday through Friday, boom, we just live our lives. Well, that's not being serious about loving the Lord. Serious about living by faith, really trusting God and doing what he says. Your entire being, when he says, if any of you lack wisdom, he's not just saying over here or over there, he means as a whole. Do you not know how you're supposed to be living? Well, you're supposed to be living trusting God and doing what he says. It's easy in easy times to trust God. That's easy. It's easy. Many say they love the Lord, but do they express that love by living by faith? Being pressed under patience, do they see the same thing? And if we desire, and I would desire for you that you do cast this crown of life before the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, but in doing so, you have to take this message very personally. You have to take it very personally. Do you love the Lord? Are you faithful? Will you be faithful unto death? Or will you be faithful until the next trial of your faith when you just step back into the shadow and let those opportunities and not let patience have her perfect work, but just step back and take the easy way out, protecting the flesh, protecting your feelings, protecting you. No, don't be faithful until the next trial of your faith. Be faithful in the death. Shout of God, the crown of life. Do you want to glorify God by casting the crown of life? It should be your desire to glorify God by casting the crown of life. He that saves his life shall lose it. The crown of life is that one that has cast their life into the hands of God, says, I will live for you who died for me. I love you, I will serve you. Be thou a faithful and loving servant. Live by faith. Have joy in all diverse temptations and circumstances, knowing that trial of faith is coming. Trial of faith is at hand. Desire your faith to be strengthened unto constancy and love toward God. You know, nobody wants to have that mountain in front of them, but if you know that that mountain brings glory to God, then by all means, climb it. By all means, climb it. Desire your faith to be strengthened. Desire wisdom and managing and navigating the circumstances of life for God's glory, not for yours. When you're raised up, give God glory. When you're brought low, give God glory. In all manner of circumstances, give God glory. Endure, continue. Continue because hard times will come. They're promised, they shall come. You want a crown of life, be faithful unto death. That's trusting God and doing what he says. Everybody is currently going into, coming out of, or presently in a crisis. Every one of us, we're human beings. That's the state of our lives. I tell you, blessed is he that endureth. Blessed is he fixed upon God in the love of Jesus Christ. Blessed is he that endure. you shall receive a crown of life. Be faithful unto death. Sinner, all you have is the wisdom of this world, that's all you have. You can't look forward to a crown of life, you can look forward to death and a death that continues, always dying but never dead. You can't have the crown of life because it's given to those that love God. And you don't love God, you love yourself. You prefer yourself over any other thing. That's why you haven't repented of yourself, it's because you love yourself. You won't turn to another because you prefer yourself. You can't live by faith unto death because you don't live by faith in this life. You're still spiritually dead. It's impossible for you to live by faith unto death. To say otherwise would be to deceive yourself. In Ephesians chapter two, he talks about your natural case. This is you. He describes a believer, but listen to how He speaks of unbelievers. In chapter 2, verse 1, He hath quickened you who were dead in trespasses and sins. So if you're not alive, then you're dead in trespasses and sins. Who in time past ye walked according to the course of this world. So if someone's dead in trespasses and sins, this is how they live. According to the course of this world. According to the prince of the power of the air. That's Satan himself. You walk a devilish life. The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. You live a disobedient life unto God, among whom we also had our conversation in times past. In the lust of our flesh, you live according to the lust of your flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh. That's you. And of the mind, that's you. And we're by nature the children of wrath, even as others. That's you, child of wrath, dead. In verses 4 and 5, he says, in verse 5, when we are dead in sins, have quicken us together, made alive. You're dead. If you're not made alive, you're dead. That's your present case. There's no crown of life you can anticipate. You're dead in trespasses and sins. Behold your case. See your sinfulness before God. See how there is no consolation. There is no aid in eternity for those who die in their sins. But I do tell you this, there is comfort in this life for the people of God. There is comfort in this life for those who call upon the name of the Lord unto salvation. He is near. He is near. I encourage you by the power of God to see your sinful case. Call upon the name of the Lord. My God, have mercy on me. Who could know if the Lord will show mercy? Have mercy on me that my sins be forgiven in the gospel of Jesus Christ, how that he died, according to the scriptures, was buried and rose again. In general, yes. For his people, no doubt. The fact that somebody believes that Jesus died for his people doesn't save him. I'm not saved because I believe Jesus died for His people. I'm saved because by the power of God, I believe He died for me. It's personal. Personal. Take it personal. Repent and believe the gospel. May the Lord bless.