Jesus Commanded: "Do not let anyone steal your crown" (Rev 3:11). The 5 Crowns of Reward are not an optional set of personal actions; they are a integreted process of leadership development. Short-circuiting any one of the 5 Crowns of Reward causes hiccups in the rest of the other Crowns. The following are some of the wiles of the devil to steal your crown. Stealing Your Crown of Righteousness: STUDY your Bible. This theft of the devil is the original sin: "did God say" in order to doubt the Word of God. When you read the Bible, if you are struggling with this, just be aware that God knows the lie and is testing your desire to stay in fellowship with His Holy Spirit, who spoke that Scripture. But there are theologies and philosophies swirling out there with the sole design to get you to doubt God's Word. Stay true. This is the base of the rest of your rewards. Stealing Your Crown Imperishable: SERVE your Church. If the devil cannot get you to doubt Scripture, the next phase is to turn away from serving the Church. He does this through accusation, slander, and discord. Do not fall for it. Remember if God loved you first in your sinful state, God can love the rest, too. But be on your guard, because those in the Church who have allowed the devil to steal their crown will not like you earning yours right in front of them! Stealing Your Crown of Life: SUFFER for the Gospel and His name's sake. The devil fills people with lies of all sorts. One of the biggest lies is that God would never allow you to suffer as His child. Nothing could be further from the truth. Christ suffered in His earthly ministry and commanded us to follow in His footsteps. Never let anyone look on your suffering as proof that you are not following God. Job's life was filled with just that: friends who gave terrible counsel about Job's suffering. Jesus promises "great reward in heaven," i.e., the Crown of Life, for those who endure the hatred of this world for following His example. Stealing Your Crown of Rejoicing: SHARE the gospel.

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:5–9, ESV) We can take great confidence in the power of the Word of God to do the work of converting souls. Jesus referred to it as the seed, and John revealed that this seed never dies once planted (1 Jn 3:9). But let's keep in mind that if this seed never dies, then it stays with people forever. Some may love this aspect, but others may hate it. When we share the word of God with people, they may have reactions all over the map: great joy (Matt 13:20), in great affliction (1 Thess 1:6), or even reject it by resisting the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51), others may hate it so much that they turn to you and try to tear you into pieces for sharing it (Matt 7:6). Either way, share. The reason the Holy Spirit gives you remembrance of everything Jesus said (if you're reading your Bible) is to spread that seed of the Word in everyone across all creation. That's why we need to stay in Scripture, deepen our study of it, and let God's Word and the Holy Spirit who spoke it take over our lives.

The Bible is one book. Penned by many through the centuries, but all inspired by the same mind, Almighty God. Our family Bible studies, i.e., the Crown of Righteousness, led us to the commentary of David's covenant, Psalm 89. Several excellent insights make this the Gospel of the OT! 1. Forever promises that apply to the "seed" of David, Jesus Christ, also apply to David himself and the Kingdom that will come. All of these are forever promises. Question: How do forever promises for people doomed to die come to fulfillment? Answer: resurrection alone. 2. What do these forever promises imply? The same issue the prophets foretold would happen, confirmed by Paul in Romans 11, and declared by Jesus himself: the forgiveness of sins! 3. This Kingdom will last forever, led by the seed of David, Jesus Christ, and the people of that Kingdom will last forever as well. What does that point to? World peace. The Devil will have no say in this time period. The defeat of the Devil and the victory of Christ's perfect work will be lived out on earth. There you have it. The Gospel in the OT. David's covenant declared forever promises, fulfilled personally and corporately. The victory of God will see the Church rule with Christ, Israel the centerpiece of the worldwide Kingdom, and Christ serves as King of kings in His Kingdom that has no end. Psalm 89:27-29 I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him, and My covenant with him will stand fast. I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure. Luke 1:32-33 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end!”

The Crown of Righteousness is loving Jesus at His Coming, but the way we get there is to love reading and studying our Bible. That's why Jesus promised that the Spirit would give us -remembrance- of everything He said: we remember what we read! But have you ever thought about the different ways to study God's word? 1. Thompson Chain Reference Bible A great resource to see how God's word chain references key topics. Working through this Bible will give you a great inter-textual (i.e., between books) look at how God revealed things through the centuries. This will aid you in shepherding others to see how their doctrine incorporates the entire Bible (Crown of Glory). 2. Chronological Study Bible This Bible will aid you in seeing how God worked from one century to the next and how God's people worked through it all. Understanding who you are in that vast timeline of God's works will aid you in serving the Church better (Crown Imperishable). 3. Apologetics Study Bible This Bible will give you cross references that aid each other in helping you defend the faith, defend the hope that is in you. As you win souls, this will become incredibly valuable (Crown of Rejoicing). 4. Ancient Faith Study Bible This Bible will link your doctrine to the ancient teachings of the Church leaders of old. It will give you a strong sense of just what doctrines Christians have suffered for in the past (Crown of Life). The 5 Crowns of Reward will guide you in all your faith journey, that is what they are designed by Jesus to do. That is why Jesus commands each of us not to let anyone steal our crown (Rev 3:11).

We never know the benefits we can bring to other believers if we just share our story. Sometimes the most mundane points to us sit with others as the most life-changing messages for them. SHARE YOUR STORY 🙂