Gaining the Crown of Life: Loving God Through Trials

I’ll give you the secret to victorious Christian living this morning. I’ll do more than that. I’ll give you an experience that will end once and for all an 1800-year-old tradition of Christians being battered and kicked around. I give you triumph this morning. I said the other day that there’s a message that will absolutely shake the universe to its foundations, and that’s the message of the gospel of the kingdom. I want you to know something else, and I’m committed to this all summer.

There’s got to be a message of Jesus Christ that, in its totality, leaves the Christian prepared for the rest of his life for all things. I mean, there has got to be a Christian experience that settles all questions. I’ve heard every kind of Christian message there is to be heard, and every one of them leaks just a little bit. There is a Christian message that doesn’t leak. There’s a Christian experience that doesn’t leave. There’s a Christian experience that, having done all, stands. Do you understand what I mean? When there is the undefeatable Christian.

I give you a big hook of that secret this morning. He has promised the crown of life. Literally, it’s the crown. Here’s the crowning aspect of that life. All things are below that crown. Listen very carefully. He will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised.

Is that given to those who persevere under trial? Absolutely not, and I can testify to that. I have persevered under trial. As far as that goes, brothers, I can tell you I have persevered under trial, and this morning I’m ashamed of that. Some time ago, an awareness broke into me that persevering under trial may be higher than anything else people generally do in a trial, but it’s not the crown of life.

When you persevere under trial, you come out with your garments smoking, and you’re staggering, and you’re saying, ” Praise the Lord.” That’s not the crown of life. Praise the Lord, you survived. You’re still in the battle, but you haven’t gotten the crown of life. Let me read it. I want to make sure I say it correctly. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial. That’s blessed. That man is persevering, and God says that’s blessed. After he perseveres and passes the test…what’s passing the test? It is loving the Lord during the trial and after the trial. It is taking that trial as an act of love from the Lord. That’s way up here, brothers and sisters.

I ask you, can that trial touch you? When a trial comes to you, and you turn it into the love of God…and at this point, I’m a frustrated man. But remember, would you, by Monday or Tuesday, I’m a frustrated man, because I’m working on how to communicate this. I don’t know how to communicate it. At this point, it’s turning that thing into the Lord’s love. Here it comes, and you say, ” That’s the Lord’s love. The Lord really loves me.” That’s not enough. Is it the Lord’s love, or is it not? Is it the Lord’s love, or are you going to pretend it is?

Alright, if you were walking down the street today, no, let’s make it more private than that. Let’s say you came home, sat down, and suddenly felt a serene consciousness of the Lord Jesus Christ’s presence. That presence began to grow and grow until you were overwhelmed, until, like an ocean, it poured over you. You would find no problem whatsoever in falling on your face before the Lord, pouring out a passionate love for Him, abandoning your inner being, and loving Him with passion. For that is a recognizable expression of the Lord’s love. A human can recognize that, but I tell you, only a divine creature could recognize the crucifixion as an act of love and receive love in response.

Can you see yourself falling down and pouring out a passionate expression of love to the Lord in a trial? I don’t mean endurance. I don’t mean recognizing it as the Lord’s love; I mean getting down to the physical business of falling on your face before the Lord and passionately loving Him; expressing love…for a trial. I tell you, the Lord will give you the crown of life. No power in the universe can touch you. May God be so merciful to us.

May I beg you to do something? If we Americans are known for anything, it’s our sarcasm. Never demean what I’m saying. It is so easy to say, ” Wow, my wife’s sick, my little girl’s in the hospital, the Lord really loves me. Boy, I lost all my money today… I got a speeding ticket…the Lord really loves me. Brother, you’ve missed the mark. I don’t mean to put you under the pile; I join you. I’ve missed the mark so many times. That’s taking something holy and still turning it into a drag. I think you understand. I’m sure you must understand what I’m saying. It’s bringing it down to something common. Oh, brothers, be like a hungry hound, looking for the Lord’s love, matching it with passion. Now, if any of you think you’re already there, I want to tell everybody that I’ve never seen what I’m speaking about. It has come to provoke love out of your inmost being.

I rarely do what I’m about to do, but it impressed me so much; the thought impressed me. I’m not here to put anybody under a pile. It’s just that it’s the best illustration I’ve been able to come up with, and it’s been in me for so long. Terry, I’m going to speak to you personally. I know you’ll understand, and then I think that, in speaking to you personally, we will all understand.

Last January, I really felt sorry for you. You lent your car to the brothers to go to Memphis, and we all saw it. Because of some of Steven’s helpful words, those who drove the car back were really helped. Some of you don’t know. It broke down, so they tied it to the back of another car, and as they drove along, the other car whiplashed it, and her very expensive car got whipped and beat up. They were under tremendous strain, of course. Finally, they just had to stop. The cars were all broken. Well, they had already stopped with that one; another car had come along and picked them up. It was just really bad.

Terry, I praise the Lord, sister. You took that a lot higher than a lot of folks might have. When that car was pulled up there, and you saw it beat up and battered, you really turned to the Lord. I mean, that could have really been bad. I know; I’ve been through things like that, and I take it very seriously. There’s bitterness, disappointment, resentment, or just plain depression, but I look forward to the day when all of the Lord’s people could come to an incident like that, walk out onto the lawn, see that fortune beat and pulverized, fall down on your face, and praise Him and love Him.