Sermon

05 "The Crowning of God’s Son" Hebrews 2:5-9 | Thursday, September 10, 2026

Boulder Valley Baptist Church

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  1. Let's go to Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews

  2. chapter number two. Once you found your

  3. place, you can stand in honor of God's

  4. word.

  5. Hebrews chapter 2. Just a reminder,

    Hebrews 2 chapter mention

  6. we'll begin a new series on Sunday in

  7. the book of Daniel called The Most High

  8. Reigns. So, looking forward to studying

  9. that book together as a church family

  10. over the next several months. Sure

  11. enjoyed these first couple of chapters

  12. thus far. Many rich truths uh that God

  13. has for us. Look forward to sharing

  14. God's word with you tonight. Hebrews

    Hebrews 2 chapter mention

  15. chapter 2

  16. and chapters 1 and two the author

  17. focuses on the superiority of Christ to

  18. the angels. And so we saw in in chapter

  19. one that he shows that Jesus is so much

  20. better than the angels. And then the

  21. beginning of chapter 2 is a challenge

  22. that since he is better, we need to be

  23. sure that we give greater heed to the

  24. word we've heard from Christ and the

  25. word that we had heard from the angels.

  26. Hey buddy, why don't you go sit by mom?

  27. Okay. I'm home

  28. and u

  29. that we need to give greater heed to the

  30. word we've heard from from Jesus more

  31. than the word we've heard from the

  32. angels which is referring to the old

  33. covenant law. And so that's where he's

  34. been at thus far. And we're going to

  35. find this as we go through Hebrews. He's

  36. going to teach then he's going to apply

  37. and then teach and apply. And that's

  38. kind of it's like a sermon is what we've

  39. talked about. And so now he's going to

  40. continue uh his case about how Jesus is

  41. better than the angels. So we're going

  42. to just cover this is a whole thought

  43. from verse 5 through18. We're going to

  44. find this a lot in Hebrews that it's

  45. just too much to cover in one shot. And

  46. I would rather take our time through

  47. this rich book than to gloss over

  48. anything. And so we're just going to

  49. cover verses 5-9

  50. tonight. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 5.

    Hebrews 2:5

  51. For unto the angels hath he not put in

  52. subjection the world to come whereof we

  53. speak. But one in a certain place

  54. testified, saying, What is man that thou

  55. art mindful of him? Or the son of man

  56. that thou visitest him? Thou madeest him

  57. a little lower than the angels. Thou

  58. crownest him with glory and honor, and

  59. set him over the works of thy hands.

  60. Thou hast put all things in subjection

  61. under his feet. For in that he hath put

  62. all in subjection under him, he left

  63. nothing that is not put under him. But

  64. now we see not yet all things put under

  65. him. But we see Jesus who was made a

  66. little lower than the angels for the

  67. suffering of death, crowned with glory

  68. and honor that he by the grace of God

  69. should taste death for every man. I want

  70. to speak to you tonight on this subject,

  71. the crowning of the son of God. The

  72. crowning of the son of God. May God

  73. bless his word. You can be seated.

  74. Every year, the crowning of a champion

  75. signals the end of a season.

  76. Last night kicked off yet another long

  77. and grueling season for NFL players and

  78. coaches. At the end of this month, the

  79. NHL will drop the puck on their longest

  80. regular season on record, going up to 84

  81. games this year. That's a long season.

  82. But nothing measures up to baseball

  83. which is coming to the end of a very

  84. long grinding nearly nightly 162 game

  85. season. But once the regular season ends

  86. and the postseason begins, of course,

  87. the intensity ramps up immensely. Each

  88. game has much higher stakes. Players are

  89. fighting through injury to stay on the

  90. field or on the ice. They grind through

  91. every game, every opponent, every moment

  92. of adversity until they make the Super

  93. Bowl, the Stanley Cup, or the World

  94. Series. But when that final game is won,

  95. and that trophy is hoisted and the

  96. champion is crowned, it signals that the

  97. fight is finished, the battle's over,

  98. the season is done, and now we can

  99. celebrate, and then we can rest. That's

  100. how it goes. question.

  101. If Christ is crowned,

  102. if he is seated at God's right hand,

  103. then why aren't we at rest?

  104. If the champion has been crowned,

  105. why aren't we at rest?

  106. Why doesn't it feel like this season of

  107. life is done?

  108. Why are there still battles?

  109. Why do we still face opponents?

  110. Why don't we feel the same kind of

  111. celebration and triumph that we normally

  112. do when a champion is crowned?

  113. The sufferings that we endure, the

  114. persecution and opposition that

  115. Christians face can often lead us to

  116. question whether or not Christ has truly

  117. been crowned.

  118. That's the kind of struggle that these

  119. Hebrew believers are grappling with.

  120. While they believe that Jesus Christ

  121. rose from the dead, ascended into

  122. heaven, and was crowned as king, they

  123. wonder why are we still suffering?

  124. Why isn't everything under his feet as

  125. the Bible says? And why aren't we

  126. reigning over the world with him?

  127. Maybe we got things wrong. They think

  128. we were at far more peace living under

  129. the covenant that was mediated to Moses

  130. by the mouths of angels

  131. than we are under the word mediated by

  132. the mouth of Christ.

  133. Maybe we should go back. These are the

  134. things they're struggling with.

  135. But the author is calling them to

  136. continue to fight through suffering, to

  137. fight through pain and persecution,

  138. poverty and hardship, to continue to

  139. hold fast to God's son no matter what

  140. they are facing.

  141. He began his appeal by demonstrating how

  142. Christ is greater than the angels, how

  143. he has a greater name as the son. He has

  144. a divine nature and he has royal status.

  145. None of which the angels can attain to.

  146. Now he shifts his argument to this.

  147. God promised to subject the coming world

  148. not to the angels

  149. but to his son.

  150. That's where he's moving now.

  151. But what difference

  152. is that supposed to make for suffering,

  153. belleaguered believers?

  154. Well, if you're in Christ,

  155. you're on his team.

  156. And what happens when a team

  157. when a team's captain is crowned a

  158. champion?

  159. the whole team is crowned a champion.

  160. And so what that means is that if Christ

  161. really has been crowned as the author

  162. has said,

  163. then that guarantees that you too will

  164. be crowned a champion.

  165. The fact that Christ is crowned gives us

  166. hope that in spite of the sufferings

  167. that we endure today in this life, if we

  168. are in Christ, we will reign with him.

  169. But it only makes sense

  170. that if we are to receive a crown,

  171. we will receive it the same way Jesus

  172. did.

  173. How did he receive his crown?

  174. Well, let's study it together.

  175. I want you to notice first of all that

  176. God

  177. has said that man will reign.

  178. God has said that man will reign. What

  179. we notice first of all in verse number

  180. five is he says

  181. for unto the angels

  182. hath he not put in subjection

  183. the world to come wherever we speak.

  184. The angels uh presently have a greater

  185. status than man, right? They're greater

  186. than us. They're supernatural,

  187. invisible, and yet are able to morph

  188. into human form. As he says in chapter

  189. 13, that some have entertained angels

  190. unawares. You know what that means?

  191. You've welcomed them into your home

  192. without really knowing it. That's a

  193. scary thought, isn't it? They're

  194. powerful. They're fast as lightning.

  195. They have been given power o over

  196. nations. We're going to see in Daniel

  197. chap 11 that angels are called the

  198. prince of Persia, the prince of Grecia,

  199. the prince of Media. That in some way

  200. there's a cosmic conflict that the

  201. angels are squaring off in their rule

  202. over nations. Even they're powerful.

  203. But nowhere does the scripture say that

  204. God will put the world that is to come

  205. under the feet of the angels.

  206. When you talk about putting them under

  207. their feet, the idea is giving them

  208. supreme and sovereign rule over

  209. everything. To where nothing is in

  210. rebellion to them, they are all subject

  211. to them. To where your kid's not out of

  212. line, but your kid is under your

  213. authority. That's the idea here. God

  214. nowhere said that he would put the world

  215. to come under the feet of the angels.

  216. What's he talking about the world to

  217. come? Well, he says the world whereof we

  218. speak. What's he even speaking of? The

  219. world of salvation.

  220. the world that Christ will one day reign

  221. over. We are uh talking about the coming

  222. kingdom of Christ as well as the new

  223. heavens and the new earth. He never said

  224. he would put the angels in charge of

  225. that. But God did say that he put man in

  226. charge of this world.

  227. In verse number six, he quotes from

  228. Psalm 8.

  229. He says, "But one in a certain place

  230. testified." You're going to notice this

  231. throughout Hebrews that the author

  232. believes in divine inspiration.

  233. He knows who pinned this psalm,

  234. but he never mentions the names of who

  235. said what aside from Moses because he

  236. recognizes no matter who it came from,

  237. it came from God. He says, "One in a

  238. certain place testified specifically

  239. from Psalm 8, saying, what is man that

  240. thou art mindful of him? Or the son of

  241. man that thou visitest him?" Now, I'm

  242. going to give you the fuller context of

  243. that and read directly from Psalm 8.

  244. This is what David wrote right after

  245. speaking of how God was going to steal

  246. his enemies. That means make them quiet,

  247. shut them up.

  248. It says this, "When I consider the

  249. heavens, the work of thy fingers, the

  250. moon, and the stars, which thou hast

  251. ordained, what is man that thou art

  252. mindful of him? and the Son of man that

  253. thou visitest him. For thou hast made

  254. him a little lower than the angels, and

  255. hast crowned him with glory and honor.

  256. Thou madeest him to have dominion over

  257. the works of thine hands. Thou hast put

  258. all things under his feet, all sheep,

  259. and oxen, yay, and all the beasts of the

  260. field, and the fowl of the air, and the

  261. fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth

  262. through the paths of the sea. That's

  263. what Psalm 8 says. God put all of his

  264. creation

  265. under the feet of man.

  266. David's point was this. Considering how

  267. great God is and how magnificent his

  268. works are,

  269. what is man?

  270. Not only that God would think about him,

  271. but that God would look after him. And

  272. that's what the word visitist means. To

  273. look after man's needs.

  274. But he didn't stop there. He said that

  275. God would crown him with glory and

  276. honor.

  277. That he whom God made beneath the level

  278. of the angels,

  279. God would set over his creation.

  280. This takes us back to Adam and Eve in

  281. Genesis 1

  282. when God gave them dominion over the

  283. fish of the sea and over the fowl of the

  284. air and over every living thing that

  285. creepeth upon the earth. God put it all

  286. under Adam and Eve's hands.

  287. The author says here in verse number

  288. eight, "Thou has put all things in

  289. subjection under his feet. For in that

  290. he put all in subjection under him. He

  291. left nothing that is not put under him.

  292. The idea there is that God left nothing

  293. that was in rebellion

  294. to him. That's what God did with man.

  295. That was his creative ideal

  296. that man who bears his image should

  297. sovereignly rule over everything God

  298. made.

  299. But look at what the author says at the

  300. end of verse eight. But now

  301. we see not yet all things put under him.

  302. Isn't that true?

  303. Adam and Eve fell

  304. and sin entered into the world and sent

  305. the creation into a chaotic state of

  306. rebellion.

  307. Death entered the world. murder,

  308. violence, and evil. Wild beasts both run

  309. from man.

  310. So domestic ones.

  311. You try to get your dog to come here and

  312. they want to play. And no matter how

  313. much you train them, if they want to

  314. play, they ain't coming.

  315. And sometimes wild beasts hunt down man

  316. like a mountain lion or a bear.

  317. See, not everything is placed

  318. under man's feet, and it doesn't appear

  319. as if anything is or ever will be under

  320. man's feet again. And that's exactly

  321. what the Hebrew believers were

  322. experiencing.

  323. Nothing was under their feet.

  324. Because when you study the history of

  325. this psalm,

  326. what you come to realize is that the

  327. Jews believed that Psalm 8

  328. was the hope of the world to come.

  329. That because Adam and Eve lost

  330. everything that was put under their

  331. feet,

  332. part of God's consummation to come was

  333. to restore everything under man's feet

  334. to make us once again kings

  335. over God's creation.

  336. That's what they believed about this.

  337. And so this psalm

  338. for the Jews was the ideal world that

  339. still awaited us at the consummation of

  340. God's kingdom, the world to come. That

  341. the saints will reign with the son of

  342. man in God's everlasting kingdom. That

  343. we would be crowned with him. And this

  344. is a consistent theme of scripture in

  345. Matthew chapter 19 28. Remember what

    Matthew 19 chapter mention

  346. Jesus said to his disciples. When the

  347. Son of Man shall sit in the throne of

  348. his glory, ye shall sit on 12 thrones

  349. judging the 12 tribes of Israel. He told

  350. the disciples they were going to be

  351. rulers in his kingdom.

  352. Listen to what Paul said in 1

  353. Corinthians chapter 6:2.

  354. Do ye not know that the saints shall

  355. judge the world?

  356. And then in verse three, he says this.

  357. Know ye not that we shall judge angels.

  358. That in the world to come, the saints

  359. are going to be placed over even the

  360. created angels. You know what that

  361. means? Everything in creation is placed

  362. under man's feet. That's what Paul said.

  363. But then in Revelation 1:6, John said

    Revelation 1:6

  364. that Christ hath made us kings and

  365. priests unto God.

  366. See, we have been promised that when

  367. Christ is crowned,

  368. we will be crowned with him if we're in

  369. Christ.

  370. But wait a second. The author has said

  371. that Jesus is crowned.

  372. That he is seated at God's right hand.

  373. Well, then why aren't we crowned with

  374. him? Why are we suffering? Why is the

  375. world in chaos? Why are God's enemies

  376. wandering around still and oppressing

  377. his people? They might ask. And our

  378. hearts groan with the same questions

  379. today.

  380. If Christ is crowned and he is reigning,

  381. then why do we suffer?

  382. Why would there ever be a 911 25 years

  383. ago tomorrow?

  384. Why would a Christian influence such as

  385. Charlie Kirk be assassinated in cold

  386. blood a year ago today?

  387. Why would God allow things like that to

  388. happen if his son is really reigning?

  389. Don't you think they were asking the

  390. same thing as Nero was slaughtering

  391. thousands of Christians in these times?

  392. We ask why Christians are still being

  393. beheaded in Nigeria and in the Middle

  394. East. why they are still in prison in

  395. North Korea and China and Russia. If

  396. Christ is crowned, why do the heathen

  397. still rage?

  398. Why does this seem as though nothing is

  399. under his feet?

  400. Is he truly reigning?

  401. It especially hits home when it touches

  402. your life.

  403. When someone you love perishes,

  404. when you get the diagnosis,

  405. when your wallet has holes in it,

  406. when you're persecuted for your faith,

  407. when you can't get a job because you

  408. won't work on Sundays, if Christ is

  409. reigning, why are we subject to car

  410. accidents and cancer and heartbreak? I

  411. thought when Christ is crowned, all

  412. things would be subject not only to him,

  413. but to us. Isn't that what the scripture

  414. says? I thought we would reign, but it

  415. doesn't appear as though a crown will

  416. ever come. I don't see how the

  417. sufferings I experience can ever lead to

  418. a crown.

  419. And if I can't see it, what confidence

  420. do I really have?

  421. Well, the good news is it's not about

  422. what we don't see.

  423. It's about what we do see.

  424. Notice at the end of verse eight, he

  425. says, "But now

  426. we see not yet all things put under

  427. him."

  428. But we see,

  429. do you notice that shift? While we don't

  430. see everything put under the son of

  431. man's feet, nor under our feet, there is

  432. something that we do see. There is one

  433. who has ultimately fulfilled this psalm

  434. already before it has come to us

  435. and that is Jesus. The first mention of

  436. his name in this letter is right here.

  437. He says, "But we see Jesus who is made a

  438. little lower than the angels for the

  439. suffering of death, crowned with glory

  440. and honor that he by the grace of God

  441. should taste death for every man." What

  442. we do see

  443. is Jesus already crowned with glory and

  444. honor,

  445. seated at God's right hand.

  446. Jesus, the son of God, became the son of

  447. man.

  448. The rest of this chapter deals with the

  449. incarnation of Jesus Christ

  450. with him lowering himself beneath the

  451. level of angels to take upon him the

  452. nature of humanity.

  453. That's what he did. the son of God who

  454. is the brightness of God's glory and the

  455. express image of his person. The one

  456. whom God appointed the heir of all

  457. things.

  458. The one by whom God made the worlds and

  459. upholds them by the word of his power.

  460. The son of God who is worshiped by

  461. angels. Who has a better name, a better

  462. status, and speaks a better word. The

  463. son of God was incarnated in human

  464. flesh.

  465. He took upon himself a status that is

  466. beneath the angels.

  467. But for what cause? It says in verse 9,

  468. for the suffering

  469. of death.

  470. For the suffering of death.

  471. Why? at the end of the verse that he by

  472. the grace of God should taste death for

  473. every man. That's not something you and

  474. I earned.

  475. That's not something that we deserved

  476. because we were good or because we loved

  477. God.

  478. That is something that God chose to do

  479. by his grace

  480. to make his son who was glorious. His

  481. son who was already in heaven. His son

  482. who was with him from the creation of

  483. the world and before that in eternity

  484. past. The son of God who is the visible

  485. expression of God's glory. God made him

  486. beneath the level of angels to take upon

  487. the form of man to go to the cross

  488. and not only taste death, but it's an

  489. idiom that means to fully partake of

  490. death.

  491. Not for himself,

  492. but for every man.

  493. Christ came

  494. and he suffered the agonies of a

  495. sinstricken world. Think about this for

  496. a moment.

  497. He subjected himself to pain, suffering,

  498. and loss.

  499. He came to a world that was not subject

  500. to him.

  501. A world that was in utter rebellion

  502. against him. And instead he subjected

  503. himself to it.

  504. Surrendered himself

  505. to be homeless,

  506. hungered,

  507. thirsty,

  508. betrayed,

  509. slandered,

  510. to be handed into the hands of wicked

  511. Jews and evil Romans,

  512. to be beaten beyond human recognition.

  513. He subjected himself to that.

  514. He subjected himself to be nailed to a

  515. cross,

  516. to hang and to die, to pay sin's price

  517. for all mankind.

  518. That is what Christ did.

  519. Jesus bore the cross.

  520. But very soon after

  521. Jesus wore the crown.

  522. He says in verse nine, "But we see Jesus

  523. who was made a little lower than the

  524. angels for the suffering of death,

  525. crowned with glory and honor.

  526. Jesus

  527. died for us, was buried in a tomb, and

  528. three days later rose from the dead,

  529. ascended into heaven, was crowned king

  530. as God said, "Son, sit at my right hand

  531. until I make thine enemies thy

  532. foottool." Christ was crowned.

  533. But before he could wear the crown,

  534. he had to bear the cross.

  535. Though Jesus suffered, though Jesus was

  536. subject for a time to his enemies and

  537. the torments of a fallen world, he rose.

  538. He was crowned

  539. through his suffering.

  540. I believe the author's point to these

  541. Hebrew believers is simply this that if

  542. you are a follower follower of Christ,

  543. your life is very likely to take a

  544. similar path to his.

  545. A crown is coming.

  546. But before it does,

  547. there is a cross to face.

  548. If the spirit inspired author was

  549. standing in front of us tonight, I think

  550. the gist of what he might say is this.

  551. Christians

  552. who bear the cross

  553. will wear the crown.

  554. Right now we are living in between

  555. coronation

  556. and consummation.

  557. See, Christ through his death, his

  558. resurrection, and his ascension to God's

  559. right hand, he received the crown. He

  560. was coronated as king at that very time.

  561. But what we notice, if you look back at

  562. chapter 1:3,

  563. it says, "But to which of the angels

  564. said he at any time sit on my right hand

  565. until I make thine enemies thy foottool?

  566. You know what that sounds like? Son,

  567. you're going to sit here,

  568. but it's not going to happen right away.

  569. There's going to be some time between

  570. your coronation and the consummation of

  571. your kingdom. What is going on between

  572. this time?

  573. God is graciously sending the gospel of

  574. his son to his enemies

  575. that they might be saved.

  576. that they might repent and turn in faith

  577. to the crowned king, his son Jesus

  578. Christ, who was crucified for their sin

  579. and risen again and will be king forever

  580. more.

  581. God has allowed time for the gospel to

  582. go to his enemies.

  583. And what that means

  584. is that right now while we are in

  585. between coronation and consummation, his

  586. enemies are running wild.

  587. Satan is having his way.

  588. Evil kings and kingdoms rise up against

  589. Christ and his people.

  590. They rage against him. They war against

  591. the saints. They seek to kill

  592. Christians, imprison them, silence them.

  593. They are raging against Christ and his

  594. people.

  595. And since we are living between

  596. coronation and consummation, what that

  597. means in our lives is we will face the

  598. cross.

  599. We will face some form of a cross.

  600. We will face suffering and hardship at

  601. the hands of this fallen creation.

  602. We will be subject to natural disasters,

  603. earthquakes, floods and fires. We will

  604. be subject to illness and cancer and

  605. disease. We weep and we mourn because of

  606. death. We are subject to economic

  607. disaster and the fallout of the policies

  608. of corrupt politicians

  609. and the terrorizing violence of

  610. extremist groups and anti-Christian

  611. religions.

  612. We will face persecution, mockery,

  613. rejection, and perhaps one day soon even

  614. in America fines and imprisonments. And

  615. some may even face death.

  616. Not all of us

  617. will bear a literal cross unto our

  618. death.

  619. But we will face suffering. We will.

  620. That's not a very popular message in

  621. today's Christianity, isn't it?

  622. Many times we just want to be

  623. triumphant. We just want to be jubilant.

  624. And I I don't mean to sound pessimistic

  625. here. I mean to sound realistic because

  626. that's kind of what the author is doing

  627. here. We're going to face suffering.

  628. And these realities can cause us to

  629. fear. It can cause us to faint, to grow

  630. weary with it all, to question whether

  631. or not it's really worth it. It can make

  632. you shrink back in your faith, go

  633. silent, fall out, or even walk away.

  634. It can cause you to do that. But let me

  635. remind you what Jesus said from the

  636. beginning.

  637. If any man will come after me, let him

  638. deny himself and take up his cross daily

  639. and follow me.

  640. Jesus, why do you think he said that? He

  641. knew that his pathway to the crown was

  642. through the cross.

  643. And therefore, if anyone is going to

  644. follow in his footsteps as his disciple,

  645. their pathway to the crown will be the

  646. same as his. And that is through the

  647. cross.

  648. Living for Christ in a world that is not

  649. yet put under his feet will bring us to

  650. face the cross. And in that moment, you

  651. will either bear it in faith

  652. or you will walk away in fear.

  653. But what the author has told us is when

  654. you walk away from Christ,

  655. there's nothing to go to.

  656. There's nothing to go to.

  657. But I want to encourage you tonight

  658. in a way that I believe this text is

  659. intended to.

  660. And that is the fact that you can know

  661. that regardless of the cross that you

  662. face on the other side, a crown is

  663. awaiting.

  664. That because Jesus wore the crown after

  665. he bore the cross, you can know that if

  666. you are following him and you bear the

  667. cross, you're also going to wear the

  668. crown. The day is coming when Christ

  669. will return and he will pour out his

  670. wrath upon his enemies and the coronated

  671. king will then consummate his kingdom.

  672. And in that day, the Bible says that all

  673. whose faith is in Jesus Christ, they

  674. will be crowned and reign with him

  675. forever and ever. But don't take my word

  676. for it. Take God's word for it. 2

  677. Timothy chapter 2:12,

  678. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with

  679. him."

  680. Revelation 2:26, Jesus said this, "And

    Revelation 2:26

  681. he that overcomemeth and keepeth my

  682. works unto the end. To him will I give

  683. power over the nations, and he shall

  684. rule them with a rod of iron." You know

  685. what that sounds like? You're going to

  686. reign with him. He's the one who rules

  687. with a rod of iron. He says, "I'm going

  688. to give that to you." you remain

  689. faithful to the end.

  690. Uh in Romans chapter 8:1 17, listen to

  691. what the apostle Paul says. If so be

  692. that we suffer with him that we may be

  693. also glorified together.

  694. You know what glor glorified is? Crowned

  695. with glory and honor. Psalm 8 becomes a

  696. reality to you after you suffer with

  697. him. He says,"For I reckon that the

  698. sufferings of this present time are not

  699. worthy to be compared with the glory

  700. which shall be revealed in us." Glory is

  701. coming, friends. So don't let the

  702. sufferings of this life bog you down.

  703. Don't let it shake your faith. Don't let

  704. it wear you out. Don't let the enemy's

  705. attacks turn you away from the one who

  706. has tasted death for you.

  707. Rather, bear the cross.

  708. Endure hardness. Be faithful through

  709. suffering, knowing that a crown awaits

  710. you in heaven.

  711. Listen to a few more verses. Revelation

    Revelation 2:10

  712. 2:10. Listen to what Jesus said to a

  713. church who had a member slaughtered

  714. right in the middle of their

  715. congregation. In the middle of church,

  716. Antipus was martyed. Jesus said this,

  717. "Fear none of those things which thou

  718. shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall

  719. cast some of you into prison that you

  720. may be tried, and ye shall have

  721. tribulation 10 days. Be thou faithful

  722. unto death, and I will give thee a crown

  723. of life.

  724. James 1:12.

    James 1:12

  725. Blessed is the man that endureth

  726. temptation, for when he is tried, he

  727. shall receive the crown of life, which

  728. the Lord hath promised to them that love

  729. him. Listen to Paul. 2 Timothy chapter

  730. 4:8 on death row, head on the chopping

  731. block of Neero, he says, I have fought a

  732. good fight. I have finished my course. I

  733. have kept the faith. Henceforth,

  734. there is laid up for me a crown of

  735. righteousness, which the Lord, the

  736. righteous judge, shall give me at that

  737. day, and not to me only, but unto all

  738. them also that love his appearing. You

  739. know what that is? You.

  740. When you look forward, when you are

  741. keeping your eyes on the day when Christ

  742. returns and the consummation comes,

  743. the crown is awaiting you.

  744. I think the Bible is clear. Those who

  745. bear the cross wear the crown.

  746. Before a team is crowned a champion,

  747. they must go through the grueling grind

  748. of training camp. They must battle

  749. opponent after opponent.

  750. They must labor through pain and

  751. suffering and injury and at times even

  752. defeat. They must subject themselves to

  753. whatever stands in their way until they

  754. hoist that trophy and they are crowned

  755. champions.

  756. Jesus

  757. before he was crowned king

  758. subjected himself to a world and

  759. rebellion against him.

  760. Hebrews 12:3 tells us that he endured

    Hebrews 12:3

  761. the cross, despising the shame, and is

  762. sat down at the right hand of God.

  763. Though this world is not subject to us,

  764. and though it is not yet subject to

  765. Christ, and though we may bear the cross

  766. today, we can do so with the assurance

  767. that one day in God's time, we will wear

  768. the crown,

  769. reign with him forever and ever.

  770. last week on Thursday night.

  771. CU kicked off their season. I had it

  772. recorded.

  773. Ready to go home and watch it last

  774. Thursday after church.

  775. And if you know how that game went, 13

  776. to 14 to 13 last minute victory off a

  777. blocked kick. I mean, exciting, right?

  778. The fan in me that entire game would

  779. have been on edge

  780. not knowing how are we going to mess

  781. this up?

  782. How are we going to fail this time?

  783. But on the way home,

  784. our new intern who does not know the

  785. rules yet for my life

  786. looked at the score on his phone and

  787. said, "Oh, see you won.

  788. That was a close one.

  789. >> And I said, "Bro, don't tell me I'm

  790. recording it."

  791. >> I went home.

  792. I popped down on the couch after church.

  793. I stayed up till an ungodly hour of the

  794. night watching that game in perfect

  795. peace,

  796. knowing how it was going to turn out.

  797. Why?

  798. I knew who was going to win.

  799. Folks, the Bible tells us who's going to

  800. win.

  801. You don't have to fear.

  802. You don't have to live in trepidation

  803. the suffering that you're facing.

  804. You don't even have to worry about

  805. death. We're going to get to this next

  806. week. Would you just look at verse

  807. number 14 real quick?

  808. For as much then as the children are

  809. partakers of flesh and blood, he also

  810. himself likewise took part of the same,

  811. that through death he might destroy him

  812. that hath the power of death, that is

  813. the devil, and deliver them who through

  814. fear of death were all their lifetime

  815. subject to bondage.

  816. Do you know what he's saying there?

  817. All of man's lifelong

  818. he was in survival mode

  819. in fear of death,

  820. fearing

  821. taking that final breath, fearing war,

  822. fearing cancer, fearing disease, fearing

  823. persecution, fearing opposition. But

  824. Jesus became a man lower than the

  825. angels, parttook of human flesh, so that

  826. through his death he might destroy the

  827. one who has power over death, and that

  828. is the devil, and deliver us who are in

  829. lifelong bondage to the fear of death,

  830. from the very fear of death.

  831. That's where he's going with this.

  832. Because we know the crown awaits.

  833. We can bear the cross today.

  834. And so I encourage you believers,

  835. no matter what you're going through,

  836. don't fear. Don't go silent. Don't

  837. shrink back.

  838. Even should our faith bring us down to

  839. the grave, we don't fear death. Because

  840. just like Jesus wore the crown after

  841. bearing the cross, we know that we will

  842. wear the crown after bearing the cross.

  843. So hold fast to God's son.

  844. Father, thank you for the hope that you

  845. give us in the gospel of Christ.

  846. That we can know our sins are forgiven.

  847. That we can know that a crown awaits us

  848. in heaven.

  849. that the day is coming when you put all

  850. things under the feet of the son of man

  851. and the saints will rise to reign with

  852. him forever. What precious hope we have

  853. now. May we take that hope

  854. and apply it to life today

  855. with whatever cross we may face.

  856. Thank you

  857. that the Lord Jesus bore the cross for

  858. us.

  859. May we live for him

  860. till the consummation of his kingdom

  861. and the crowning of your people

  862. in Jesus name. Amen.