Because you have kept My command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come over the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have so that no one takes your crown.  Revelation 3:10-11 HCSB

In 1983 Vanessa Williams made history by becoming the first black woman to be crowned Miss America. She made history again in 1984 by being the first Miss America to give up her crown. In 1982 Vanessa Williams had allowed a photographer to take nude photos of her. The photographer told her that they would be shot in silhouette and she would be unrecognizable. He lied. He sold the photos to Penthouse for publication. Because of the agreement signed with the photographer, Ms. Williams had no recourse. Because the Miss America Pageant wanted to project a wholesome image, and this certainly didn’t fit in with that, Ms. Williams gave up her crown.

In the book of 1 Samuel, the Israelites wanted a king. Saul became their first king, but Saul was disobedient, and when confronted, tried to justify his actions rather than confessing his sin and repenting. In 1 Samuel 13:13-14, Samuel scolds Saul for being disobedient. He tells him that had he been obedient to the LORD, the LORD would have established his kingdom forever. In other words, his crown and his position as king would have been handed down throughout the generations to come. However, due to his disobedience, the LORD was going to put someone after his own heart in Saul’s position upon Saul’s death. Now if you read on, you know that David is God’s chosen successor to Saul. Saul becomes paranoid to the point where he suffers severe mental illness which causes him to chase after and torment David until Saul’s death.

In our scripture passage today, the Lord is speaking to the church at Philadelphia. They had done good deeds and He was pleased with them. They had patiently endured the suffering here on earth and God warned them that He is coming quickly. He also issues a warning to hold on so that no one takes their crown.

Now in the case of Ms. Williams and of King Saul, we see two human beings that were crowned and lost that crown. Saul was able to keep the crown, but neither his sanity nor his kingdom endured. In our scripture passage, God is pleased with the church of Philadelphia and the fact that they have endured suffering. We are all going to endure suffering here on earth. It’s how we endure it that matters. If we endure it well, we will receive a crown. Now I’m not talking about a diamond studded tiara type crown. I’m talking about rewards. We are crowned with rewards. What God is telling the church of Philadelphia is to see to it that no one takes their rewards. We can’t lose our salvation, but we can lose our rewards.

We know as Christians, we believe that once truly saved, always saved.  Once we are saved, we want to do good things. We want to serve the LORD through serving others. We want to exhibit the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and we want to lead others to the wonderful salvation that we have found through our Lord and Savior.

But, the devil wants to destroy our witness (John 10:10). He wants to poke holes in the good things that we do. He brings suffering and temptation on us to see if he can win us back over to his side. He may not be able to take our salvation away, but he can succeed in taking our rewards or our crown. He wants desperately to make our witness ineffective. He wants others to look at us in disbelief when we claim to be a Christian.

The world we live in today tries desperately to steal our crown. The devil and his minions are very busy. They know that time is ticking away and the Lord could return to lift us up out of this mess any minute now. They are hard at work trying to steal as many crowns as they can. I beg of you today to stand firmly with the Lord. Put on your full armor so that you can stand firm against the devil and his schemes (Ephesians 6:12). Make sure that you are able to endure the testing that comes your way. And whatever you do, hold on to you crown. Before you know it, we will be in glory with God the Father and we will receive our eternal rewards for enduring the suffering that we endured here on planet earth. Don’t let the devil steal that away from you.

Have a great day!