--The believers in Philadelphia had been given a crown by the Lord, not for their own merit but by His grace.

1. I WEAR THE CROWN OF A CONQUEROR

   --God has surely given you His crown, His reward for patience and for perseverance for the sake of His name and His Word (cf. 3:8).

   1. You Have Kept the Word with Perseverance

      --Therefore, He heralds you as one who endures and gives you a CROWN OF LIFE,

      James 1:12

   2. You Have Won the Race with Endurance

      --He hails you as a victor and gives you a CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

      2 Timothy 4:7-8

2. I HOLD THE CROWN AGAINST THE CONTENDERS

   --To wear the crown is a great honor for the victory has been won, but there are still those who would contend for the crown to be removed from your brow.

   --Therefore, Jesus warns the church in Philadelphia, "Hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown."

   What forces contend together to steal and destroy the crown placed upon you by your Savior?

   1. Success -- Success can make us so anxious to continue to succeed that we become so careful and calculating that we stop living by faith, stop walking by the Spirit, stop listening to His voice.

   2. Failure -- The other extreme takes us all the way down and dares us to presume that we could ever be worthy of wearing a crown from the Lord.

   3. Discouragement -- People all around you can overwhelm you with discouraging words, critical comments, unrealistic demands and expectations and successfully make off with your crown.

   4. Entanglements -- When we get so caught up in the mad rush to be everything to everyone, to do everything before anyone else does it, to prove our significance by making ourselves indispensible to everyone, we allow even good things to threaten the precarious perch of the crown balanced upon our head.

   5. Trouble -- Although we cannot control when and how trouble will come into our lives, we can see it as a welcome ally in the battle to hold fast to our crown.

      --This leads us to one more means of holding fast to the crown we have received from our Savior.

3. I CHERISH THE CROWN WITHOUT COMPLAINT

   --The cost of the crown has already been paid in full by Jesus Christ, but now the privilege of wearing it exacts a price for us, the price of patient enduring the temporary difficulties associated with identifying with One the world chose to hate and to kill.

   John 15:18-19

   --Holding fast to what we have calls for each of us to hold onto the crown He has given us in His name.

   --Let no one take your crown... be careful not to give it away...and guard what you have lest you simply lose it!

--After all that the believers in Philadelphia had been through, Jesus' words of encouragement came through loud and clear as words of deliverance.

--He was coming again to deliver them, to assure them that regardless of what happens in this world, He is still able to save, to preserve and to protect His own.

--To that end, He makes three promises that offer wonderful hope to hurting believers...in that day as well as now.

1. I WILL VINDICATE YOU BEFORE YOUR ENEMIES

   Revelation 3:9

   --Jesus will prove the depth of His love for each of us when He returns by welcoming us gladly into His presence and making even His enemies bow down!

2. I WILL KEEP YOU FROM THE HOUR OF TESTING

   Revelation 3:10

   -- Jesus seems to indicate here as elsewhere that before the world is severely tested (by the tribulation of seals of Revelation 6 and following), He would keep them from that awful terror by taking them away first.

   --This removal of believers from the earth before the time of tribulation is often called the Rapture.

3. I WILL CROWN YOU WITH GLORY IN MY PRESENCE

   Revelation 3:12

   --The ultimate promise He gives them is that He will bring them into His presence where they could experience the crowning glory of His presence forever!

   --The temporary struggles and momentary afflictions, He assures them, will be worth it all when they come into His presence...nothing else will matter ever again!