David [00:00:00]:
You know, since last Sunday, or since the last Sunday in December actually, not just last Sunday but since the last Sunday in December, we’ve been studying Psalm 65:11.
David [00:00:31]:
You crown the year with goodness, and your paths drip with abundance. And what we learned as we’ve studied this verse is to be crowned with His goodness is to be fully wrapped in who God is. To be crowned means to be encircled, to be surrounded, to be covered, to be wrapped in God’s power, His authority, His identity, and His favor. It also means to be wrapped in His honor and His dignity. Wow! What we’ve seen is God crowns His children. We are all children of God when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, which means we’re a member of the royal family. Now, a couple weeks ago, as I was doing my morning Bible reading, I came to John chapter 1, verse 12. And as I read that verse, I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to dig deeper into it.
David [00:01:44]:
And here’s what John 1:12 in the New King James Version says. It says, but as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name. Wow, wow. As I read this verse, I wondered, does the phrase ‘to them he gave the right’ refer to crowning as we’ve been studying over the last few weeks? And so I looked it up, of course, because that’s what I love to do, is study the words and find out where they come from and the etymology and all the things about it, the Greek, the Hebrew, the Latin. And so that word right there in John 1:12, he gave us the right, is the Greek word exousia. Hopefully I pronounced it that close to correctly. Exousia. It means delegated authority, power, legal right.
David [00:02:54]:
A royal privilege, crowned with regal authority. There we go. There it is. God always crowns us. So it could be translated as he gave us the authority to be, to become children of God. He gave us the power to become children of God. He gave us the legal right We stand legally as a child of God. Hallelujah! He gave us the royal privilege of being a child of God, and as a child of God, we are crowned with regal authority that flows from the throne of God.
David [00:03:40]:
Hallelujah! Whoo! Glory to God! That’s what God has done for all of us who believed in Jesus Christ and are following him. So in other words, when you receive Christ, God— He didn’t just forgive your sin. He authorized you as a child of God. He gave you the legal right to stand in His family and to declare, I am a child of God. I am a member of the royal family. You see, you were crowned by grace to be a member of the royal family. And we know one of the definitions of that word grace is divine favor, unmerited favor, favor you didn’t earn or deserve. It was bestowed on you.
David [00:04:31]:
You were crowned with his favor to be a member of the royal family. He said, I want you Come on in here. You’re my child. Today we’re going to continue this study focused on what it means to be crowned, and we’re going to look at it from the New Testament perspective, from what John is saying here, and we will begin to understand what it means to live from your crown, living life from your crown. And before we move on, let me emphasize this: you’re not trying to earn a crown. That’s a lie of the enemy. You don’t have to earn anything. It is simply a gift, a right, a privilege given to you.
David [00:05:27]:
Hallelujah! When you get saved, it’s yours. It’s done. Even though you may not realize it, You are crowned. You’ve been crowned from the moment you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Hallelujah! Let me read this again. John 1:12, but as many as received him— have you received him? If you’ve received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name. There it is again. We receive and believe and we have.
David [00:06:08]:
We believe and we receive and we have. Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord. First thing I want to emphasize here is the crown is given. It’s not something that is achieved. Notice what the scripture says: to them he gave. He gave it. You didn’t have to take it. He gave it.
David [00:06:34]:
You did not earn it. It was His gift to you. You did not qualify for it. He blessed you with it. He gave you His authority, His power, His rights, and His privilege, His favor when He crowned you. And his honor and his dignity. As we move forward over the next few weeks, we’re going to be exploring what it means to live from the crown your Father God has already given you. Praise God, guys! We need to be walking in and living in all that Christ bought for us at Calvary, all he sacrificed so that we could be and walk in the fullness of who God made us to be.
David [00:07:26]:
See, religion teaches us that if we behave well, then God, maybe he’ll accept you. Or if we serve him long enough, maybe we’ll feel worthy and he’ll reward us. Or if we pray hard enough, maybe we’ll earn His favor. But the good news, the gospel, the Word of God declares, you believe, you receive, and then you become. Your identity in Christ precedes your maturity in Christ. The moment you get saved, you’re in Christ, you’re identified with Him. You’re in Christ. You’re a part of the royal family.
David [00:08:18]:
Hallelujah! You’re a citizen of heaven. Hahaha! You don’t have to prove yourself to receive the right to be a child of God. Think about it. A child born into a royal family does not grow into royalty. They grow up in royalty. The moment they’re born into that family, they’re royal. They’re seen as royal. They carry the name, the identity, the inheritance.
David [00:08:49]:
They carry the position, the dignity, the honor. Growth is not about earning a crown. It’s about learning to live in harmony with it, and out of this maturity comes. The enemy of our soul wants us to get caught up in striving and trying for what has already been settled and done. He wants us to come back praying for forgiveness, redemption, and acceptance that was granted to us at the cross. He wants us working for the identity that was given to us at the new birth. Here’s your reality in Christ. When you believed in and received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, it was settled.
David [00:09:46]:
It was done. Tanya laughs all the time. She tells me, we’re just doing the done. That’s right. God’s already done it. He’s already made the way. He’s always prepared for us. We just get to go implement it now.
David [00:10:01]:
As John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave.” His giving, His grace, His power, His anointing, His— it all flows out of His love for us. The day you were born again in Christ, you were crowned as His child. But he loved you even before you did that. That’s why he was willing to pay the price that he paid. Here’s, here’s a key thing that we see a lot of times in scripture. We see the verse, but it was a key thing in Roman society too. Paul says it well here in Romans 8. You— Romans 8:15, I’m sorry, Romans 8:15.
David [00:11:00]:
You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear. You received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. You see, in Roman culture, adoption was irreversible. If you adopted a child, it was done. An adopted son had full inheritance, full rights. He was adopted in. The lineage of that family was his now. It was his lineage.
David [00:11:42]:
Sometimes these were even more secure than if you were a biological son. A biological son could be disinherited because of the way he acted or things he did, but an adopted child could not. Once you adopted them, they were yours. The spirit of adoption is not symbolic. It is legal language. God didn’t partially bring you in. To his family. He fully brought you in.
David [00:12:24]:
But here’s where the enemy tries to get us tied up, create tension in us. You can be adopted and fully a part of the mem— the family of God, a member of the royal family, and still think like an orphan. The enemy is always trying to get into our mindset, into our thinking, and still rob us of what’s ours. Orphan thinking says this: I have to prove myself that I’m worthy. You know, I’m just one mistake away from being rejected. Oh, look where I am. I don’t belong in this room. Someone else deserves it more than I do.
David [00:13:24]:
They should be here. But Paul said in Romans 8:15, you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear. Those thoughts are the thoughts of the enemy trying to take you down, trying to rob you, trying to hold you back from all God has for you. Orphan thinking is the enemy trying to bind you up in fear because he knows fear will hold you back from you fully walking in faith and receiving all that God has for you. When we think like a child of God, we come in saying, I’m accepted, I’m secure, I belong here because my Father said I do, my inheritance is settled, I am a member of the family. Again, as Paul said in Romans 8:15, but you received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ Think about this: an orphan works for love, a son works from love, from the love of his Abba Father, his Daddy God. That word ‘Abba’ there In the Latin, in the Greek, one of the translations of it is Daddy. Daddy God.
David [00:15:07]:
Think about that. He picks you up, he holds you in his arms, he loves you, he wraps you in his love. Some believers walk around exhausted not because God is demanding because they are striving to earn what has already been given to them. They are missing the blessing of fully being a child of God and experiencing his fullness. As I was reading chapter 1 in John that day, I read that verse, John 1:12, and then After a few minutes, I read on down, and here was John 1:16. I’m reading this. John 1:16 in the Amplified says this: For out of his fullness, his abundance, we have all received, all had a share, and we were all supplied with one grace after another, and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, and even favor upon favor and gift heaped upon gift. I could stop right there and preach for a while.
David [00:16:23]:
We’re not going to do that today, but I could. We’ll do it another day. But God gave us everything. We get to walk in his fullness every day. When you embrace being crowned as a child of God, the spirit of striving is broken. And as Jesus said there in Matthew, come unto me, all you weary and heavy laden, tired, and you will find rest. One of the words there translated rest in that those verses means rest, recreation. You’re gonna find— you’re gonna be refreshed, and you’re gonna find recreation.
David [00:17:20]:
We’re gonna have some fun together. You’re going to be renewed. You don’t have to be bound up striving every day. Hallelujah! We are free indeed. Grace crowns you with the royal identity of God himself from the beginning. You don’t have to grow up into it to get crowned. You’re crowned from the beginning. God does not wait for you to become mature before calling you his child.
David [00:17:59]:
He declares you his child And maturity flows as you grow in that security of knowing who you are in Christ. A toddler in a royal palace still carries the title prince or princess even if they spill their milk all over the place. Their position is not revoked because of immaturity. Correction and training will come, Growth is expected, but their identity is not withdrawn. They’re still a child of the royal family. As the writer of Hebrews tells you, Hebrews 12:5-6, this is from the NIV: And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you? As a father addresses his son. It says, my son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the ones he loves, and he chastens, chastens everyone he accepts as his son or as his child. God loves you so much, He wants you to walk in the right way, so He brings instruction and correction in our lives.
David [00:19:33]:
I want that. I want to walk in the way God intends for me to walk, so I can walk in the fullness of who He created me to be and walk in the fullness of the blessing of God. This verse is reminding us of what Solomon said in Proverbs 3. Proverbs 3:11-12 in the NIV says, my son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves. As a father, the son he delights in. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Don’t believe the lie of the enemy that your recent failure removed your crown and removed you from your place and position in Christ. Yes, we acknowledge our sins and we ask for forgiveness, but here’s what we know: the Father is always ready to forgive us. Know this: the Father disciplines his children.
David [00:20:44]:
He doesn’t disown them. He wants you to walk in the right way so you can have it all. The cross settled your legal standing. Your growth is a journey that we’re on now and forevermore. But your position as His child, it’s established, it’s done, it is settled. The crown restores dignity. When God gives you exousia, that Greek word there, the right, the power, the authority, the privilege to become His child, He restores dignity in your life. Dignity wraps you, surrounds you, overshadows you.
David [00:21:42]:
Sin stripped humanity of confidence before God. Then, as they stepped into shame, it caused them to want to go hide, as Adam and Eve did. But being his child restores the boldness that he wants us to possess. Remember, Romans 8:15 says we cry, “Abba, Father,” Daddy God. Hallelujah! That word “Abba” carries so much intimacy and confidence in the way it’s defined. You don’t whisper it like a servant entering cautiously. You cry it like a child who knows they belong. It’s like when Connie and I go to visit our oldest daughter and son-in-law, and the grandkids come around, “Papa, you’re here!” Yes, I am.
David [00:22:44]:
Praise God. Come here. What can I do for you? Let me love you. ‘Nani, you’re here!’ And, and Nani’s got this thing she does with them called the tickle monster, and she just starts tickling them, and they’re loving it, and they’re laughing. Hallelujah! God wants you to come into His presence like that, with that confidence and that boldness. Hebrews 4:16 in the Amplified Classic: Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace, the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners, that we may receive mercy for our failures and find grace to help in good time for every need. Appropriate help and well-timed help coming just when we need it. When you understand you were crowned by grace, you stop shrinking back.
David [00:23:45]:
You stop apologizing for who you are and what you’ve done, your existence. You stop disqualifying yourself for what God has spoken over you. You begin to stand differently. You begin to pray differently. You begin to think differently. You stand securely in His word, His promise to you. God is inviting us from the day we’ve been saved to receive him and to receive all he’s done for us. John 1:12 begins with this phrase: as many as received him.
David [00:24:37]:
Hallelujah. I’ve already said this, but let me say it again. The crown is given, but it must be received. A gift given is not a gift. It is not received. We have to be really good receivers with the Lord. If we’re going to be great givers, we’ve got to be great receivers. Some of you believe in Jesus A lot of us believe in Jesus but have not fully received our position as a child of God.
David [00:25:15]:
And God is saying, every— I got more, I’ve got more for you. You’ve received forgiveness, but you’re not walking in the fullness of your identity in Christ. You’ve received salvation, but you’re not operating in the fullness of the authority that’s been delegated to you. You’ve received the fact that someday you get to go to heaven, you’ve got a home there, but what we don’t acknowledge is that We’re already positioned and seated with Christ in heavenly places, as Paul told us in Ephesians chapter 2. We’re already there. We are already in heaven, but we’re living here on earth. We’re just like any other ambassador. An ambassador to the United Kingdom lives in Britain.
David [00:26:26]:
He’s there in Britain, but his home, his history, his heritage, his authority is right here still in the United States. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places far above. All power, dominion, thrones. God is wanting you to acknowledge that and sit in it. It’s not something we do arrogantly. It’s something we do humbly. It’s something we rejoice in and honor him in. Praise God.
David [00:27:11]:
It’s something we stand boldly and confidently in because we’re here to bring heaven to earth. On earth as it is in heaven. Life is not about striving. It’s not about proving yourself. It’s not about earning your place. It’s about receiving your position, your rights, your authority, your power, your privilege as a child of God. It’s time to come against the enemy. Stop with that orphan thinking he keeps trying to bring back on you, that fear of rejection, or having that performance-driven identity.
David [00:28:09]:
Or that constant insecurity going, okay God, did I do okay? Am I good enough? Did I mess up today? No, God is saying, hey, come here, come sit with me. If there’s something that needs to be corrected, I’ll show you, but receive from me what I’ve given you. All that I’ve given you so you can be all that I created you to be. As we close today, I want you to say this with me. Just bow your head, close your eyes. Say this with me: Father, I receive the crown of grace that establishes me as a child of God. I receive my place and my position in your family. I receive the crown of grace that you’ve placed on me.
David [00:29:20]:
I receive your authority, your power, your rights, your privilege. Your honor, your dignity as your child. Thank you, Lord, for honoring me and crowning me with your goodness and your grace. Hallelujah, hallelujah. If the enemy comes against you this week, remember this: you are a son of God. You are a daughter of God. You are a child of God. You are crowned by God our Father.
David [00:30:16]:
You can be all that he created you to be because he’s placed it all within you. Amen. Praise God. Let me pray for you real quick. Father, we thank you for this word today that shows us all that you did for us and all that you’ve given us and how much you love us and how you’ve crowned us with grace, with your goodness, and empowered us to go forth and represent you here on the earth. To see your kingdom come and your will be done here on the earth through us as it is in heaven. And Father, I pray that the revelation of this word would get into people’s hearts and into their spirit, Father. And everywhere they go this next week and in the months to come, the years to come, that they would know that the fact that they’re there is changing the atmosphere around them.
David [00:31:24]:
People may not be able to understand what it is or why it is or identify it, but you are there with them as they go and represent you in your name. And we thank you, Father, for that grace, and we give you praise and glory for it. And may we fully walk in it and be all that you created us to be. Amen. Praise God. Go and have a great week and be who God called you to be. Pastor Connie is coming with a closing word in prayer. God bless you.
