Sermon
# 218 Series: Isaiah
Title: “A CROWN OF GLORY”
Text: Isaiah 62:3
Subject: The Church as Christ’s Crown
Date:
Sunday Evening – August 13, 1995
Tape
# R-66
Introduction:
In Isaiah 28:5 we read, “In that day shall the Lord of host be for a
crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of the
people.” Wondrous as that promise is, it is conceivable.
The
Lord our God shall, in the Person of his Son, be our everlasting crown and our
diadem of beauty. He will add to us infinite, indescribable glory and beauty, crowning
us with lovingkindness and tender mercies.
That is a marvellous promise of grace.
Yet, it is a promise of our text (Isa. 62:3) is altogether
inconceivable. In this text the prophet is not describing what God shall
be to his church, but what we shall be to our God – “Thou shalt also be crown of
glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.”
Proposition: In eternity the church and kingdom of God shall be to
the triune God a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty.
That
is simply amazing, astounding! When God
has finished his work for us and his work in us, when some shall be no more and
eternal glory has begun, you and I shall be a crown of glory and a diadem of
beauty in the hand of the eternal God!
I. As a Crown is a Display of
Glory, our text declares that every saved sinner is a display of the glory of
God.
Notice
that this crown is pictured as being in Gods hand, not upon his head. There is a reason for that – We do not add
anything to God’s glory. He is glorious
without us.
Do not ever imagine that God almighty in anyway satisfy a need in him. God is not lacking anything!
A. Saved sinners are a crown of
glory to the triune God in the sense that in us God shows forth his glory.
The
purpose of God in saving us is that we should be to the praise of his
glory. And we shall be!
God’s
glory is seen in all his works of grace toward his people. We are to him “a crown of glory” and “a
diadem of beauty.”
B. But notice again that this
crown of glory and diadem of beauty is “in the hand of the Lord.”
II. This prophetic promise of
grace is given to show us God’s high estimation of his church and people.
Today
we know nothing about kings, except what we read in books. But try to imagine a sovereign monarch upon his
throne and consider how that king would view his crown. That is the picture before us. The Monarch of the universe,
The holy, sovereign Lord God looks upon his church and every individual
believer as his crown.
A. His Crown is the King’s Emblem
of Divine Right.
In these days when kings sat upon thrones, they looked upon their thrones as being a matter of divine right because providence had placed them upon a throne. Their crown, passed down from father to son, generation after generation, was the emblem of that divine right.
Even
so, the only King of the universe, the King of kings, The King of eternity, the
Lord God our Savior is King by Divine Right because he is God.
Crown Him! Crown Him!
Crown Him! Crown Him!
Crown the Savior King of
kings!
But in the case of our Savior, not only is he King by divine right as God, as a man he earned his crown consequently.
B. This King’s Crown is
Represents A Mighty Conquest.
The
Lord God promised his Son that when he had satisfied justice as our Substitute,
he would see his seed saved, prolong his days, and that the pleasure of the
Lord would prosper in his hands, that is to say, He would reign as King forever
for the salvation of his people – We are the crown of his glory as King!
C. The King’s Crown is the
Representation of His Power.
Every saved sinner is a monument of the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
D. The King’s Crown is a Monument
of His Love.
The
Monarch looks upon nothing with such devotion, delight, complacency, and
satisfaction as his crown. We who believe are his…
E. The King’s Crown is the Object
of His Peculiar Care.
He cares
for his crown as he cares for nothing else.
He will defend his crown with his utmost power. Now try to get hold of this – We are his crown! God almighty holds each of us
in his hand as his crown!
III. If the Lord God has such great
care for his church and Kingdom, we must not neglect it.
Our Savior teaches us that his kingdom should be the dominant concern of our hearts, second only to the glory of God.
When
he taught us to pray “thy kingdom come,” he was not simply telling us to desire
it, but to promote it and labor for it to the utmost stretch of power and
ability.
Let
me say three things to you in this regard, and I will wrap my message up.
A. Do not neglect the public
assembly of
God’s church for worship, instruction, and mutual edification – (Heb.
10:25-26).
B. Devote yourself to building
Christ’s Kingdom, to gathering jewels for his crown.
Dare we count any cost too great, any labor too demanding, if we might be used of God as instruments in his hands to pluck brands out of the burning and gather from the clutches of satan jewels for a diadem of beauty in the Savior’s crown of glory?
If,
in the whole course of my life, I should be allowed to be instrumental in
gathering one sinner from the sower of humanity to be a crown jewel in the
crown of Christ’s glory, I will consider my life a life well-spent, no matter
how or where it is spent. Devote yourselves, my friends, to the increase of Christ’s kingdom, for
the glory of his name.
C. If we are “a crown of glory”
and “a diadem of beauty” to our God, let us take care how we represent him in
this world.
Application:
Illus: “My Daddy died for me!”