PORTERVILLE POST | The "RIGHT" Word © ~ with Brother Scott

| “THE CROSS BEFORE THE CROWN” {#6}

The Right Word^© - Aug 16, 2026
with Brother Scott : scott@portervillepost.com

This is part six and the conclusion of “The Cross before the Crown”.
Listen :
(† Psalm 34:1-8) - († Psalm 50:23)
There have been a number of things discussed in the previous five weeks with all things being necessary to hopefully impress upon you these three important and related areas of your life as a true follower of Jesus.

1. Once leaving this life, a genuine Christian is promised eternal life in the realm of God. Beyond that most worthwhile free gift of God there are many other wonderful things that can be waiting for a believer in Heaven—rewards that are directly related to how he or she lived after being born-again from above.
Such things are an inheritance in the kingdom of God (Ps. 47:4), treasures laid up by the believer in Heaven resulting from our choices and how we each lived, authority over cities, regions, and even perhaps planets or more, and certain crowns of some form that will be evident to all (ex. Matt. 5:12 & 6:1-21, Lk. 19:15~, Col. 3:23-24, 1 Cor. 3:9-15, 2 Tim. 4:8, 1 Pet. 5:4, Jam. 1:12, 1 Th. 2:19, Rev. 2:10).

One of the most impressive things in God’s view
that we can and should do is to STOP SINNING

One of the most impressive things in God’s view that we can and should do is to stop sinning and co-incidentally take the sinful nature to the cross of Christ to die there.
The point of this first point is that you should not lose sight of what the Bible teaches us that what you are given beyond eternal life is the result of your cooperation and obedience to the demands and commands of the Word of God—else you may just end up eternally enjoying the kingdom of God but only with a backpack, bicycle, sleeping bag and tent, and not the address of some mansion in Glory.
What happens to you at the cross throughout this lifetime is directly related to the crowns and other rewards that are set aside for you when you cross over. The Old Rugged Cross hymn is very instructive and reveals a needed interaction between it and each believer throughout his or her life!
2. The next point that I spoke to was that before Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross, He was mercilessly beaten nearly to death, and then mocked by pushing a crown of thorns deep into His scalp and forehead to increase His suffering and make fun of Him (Matt. 27:29, Jn. 19:5, 2 Cor. 12:7).
Now as followers of Jesus, believers are going to experience suffering in various ways throughout life that can be likened to a painful crown of thorns being pressed down upon our minds and hearts; such suffering (metaphorically “a crown of thorns”) does not kill us like the literal one did not kill Jesus but it does get our attention, although usually to just complain, be discouraged about, and look for any way to make the suffering stop and go away.
I speak of relationship issues, financial troubles, personal failures, persecution and betrayals, and sickness and disease in our bodies that must be endured—sometimes indefinitely.
As Christians under the change-processes arranged by the Lord for our sanctification, these times of suffering have a purpose and value, if we will recognize that and respond to them spiritually. You don’t need to know what their purpose and value are but will one day be given perfect understanding.
A crown of thorns on our minds and hearts should cause us to first react in the direction of God—and not to complain or necessarily even to pray that He “fix the problem”.

The more serious intention of making this second point is for
it to be a wake-up call to the prophecies in our Bibles that we are
A. Living in the last few years before Jesus returns and therefore,
B. We will be persecuted, suffer many losses that break our hearts and other things taken away from us to break our wills, we will one day have to do without most of our creature comforts, and some of us will be arrested and executed for our faith. So therefore,
C. How do we begin to prepare ourselves now for that level of suffering and to stay faithful to our Savior?
This leads us to last point of the three I said were vitally
important to you and me as we move into the days of great trouble.

3. We must train ourselves that in the face of suffering that we “keep the main thing the main thing” and that is to stay ever-mindful of the fact that we belong to God and He “has our back” (Ps. 23, 27, 46, & 91, Rom. 8:28-35, Heb. 13:5-6).
In part 4 and part 5, I shared from my personal and proven experience that when the crown of thorns wrap around my head, sometimes more painfully than others but always trying to negatively drive me down, the Lord has taught me to set praise of God against the issues of life that want to at least discourage me, if not knock me to the ground and maybe damage my faith in God.

If we will rise above the suffering by praise unto the Lord of Glory, we are comforted and helped by the Holy Spirit and best able to cope with the issue intended to hurt us.

Listen to the lyrics to this old but beloved song
by the Imperials called Praise the Lord :

Lyrics : When you’re up against a struggle that shatters all your dreams, and your hopes have been cruelly crushed by Satan’s manifested schemes. And you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fears, don’t let the faith you’re standing in seem to disappear!

Chorus : Praise the Lord! He can work through those who praise Him—Praise the Lord! For our God inhabits praise. Praise the Lord; for the chains that seem to bind you, serve only to remind you, that they fall powerless behind you, when you praise Him. . . [when you praise the Lord.]

Now Satan is a liar and he wants to make us think that we are paupers when he knows himself we are children of the King. So lift up the mighty shield of faith for the battle must be won. We know that Jesus Christ is risen so the work’s already done!

( † † † )
† John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer (be daring, have courage); I have overcome the world.
† James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (tests, putting to the proof, experience of evil, adversity). . . 12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
† 1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
† Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. . . 31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who [or what?] can be against us?

Jesus said something else that we all should keep in mind when we have the pain
of a crown of thorns pressed upon our minds & hearts - that is when suffering comes.
( † † † )
† John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
† John 19:7-8 The Jews answered him [Pilate], We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. 8 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

[Note: Pilate believed in the Roman gods and was familiar with their sons—Apollo, Hermes, Heracles, and Ares the god of war, etc.]

† John 19:9-11 And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? 11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.

Now this is another important reason why we must get the sin out of our lives.

If we have the occasional sin, that’s not okay with God, so repent of it, be forgiven and washed of it, and deny-that whenever the temptation comes again.
If you have issues with habitual sinning, that should cause you suffering-thorns that are sharp points to direct you to the cross for deliverance from the nature of sin.
Sin opens the door for trouble and suffering in our lives and that’s our fault and not anything God led you into (James 1:13-15).
But when we are living in victory over sin, when we carry the cross daily as a chaperone against sin, the devil has nothing against us to accuse us of, it is then that our suffering was authorized from above, and we are to stand through the suffering in the knowledge and comfort of Heaven’s purposes just as Jesus did at His trial before Pilate.
And the prescribed way of standing in the midst of suffering for you (and me) is by praise unto God for Who He is and what He is doing in you and through you; praise no matter the reason for our suffering.

This is what God said to Paul when he asked three times
for the suffering by his “thorn” to be removed:

( † † † )
† 2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory (rejoice) in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure (think well of, do not disapprove) in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
[“Pleasure?” Think of it this way: When you have an abscessed tooth that is utterly painful, even though you don’t particularly like going to your dentist, aren’t you GLAD you can for this issue? Paul “did not disapprove of” his suffering because he had God’s grace and oversight.]

My brothers and sisters, as trouble strikes us, let us be soon trained to first acknowledge the eternal One as our God and praise Him. When we do, it balances our view of those circumstances—the natural—weight against the spiritual. When we insert praise into the tribulation it invites the Lord into our trouble, and Who better to have walk with us through the tremors and great earthquakes of our human lives?
When we praise Him, as soon as we regain our mental and emotional senses when something breaks into our life, we are reminded of His promises, power, and His Word to us. When we praise God, we take the first step of making Him bigger than anything that roars over our heads (1 Peter 5:8).

* I ask you: Are you emotionally suffering because of a broken relationship? Instead of painful grief-suffering and going over the details time and time again, now, instead, spend time praising God and His Savior for such a great salvation and its peace, and see what a difference that will make in you when you make the sacrifice of praise.
* I ask you: Do you have sickness and disease in your body—things that have stolen your health and strength and so many other things you used to be able to do? Have you lost hope that things will ever be better; the medical professionals have neither answers nor solutions, and prayer for restoration is yet to be answered?
I say, throughout your every day, greet the Lord with thanksgiving when you wake, throughout the day offer Him praise as the lover of your soul, glorify Him with your weak and weary raised hands, occasionally maybe have times of literal communion with a piece of bread and cupette of grape juice, show forth His victorious death.
Praise Him in spite of the condition of your physical body—
Job did (and don’t forget that God supervised Job’s whole ordeal)!

( † † † )
† Job 1: [After hearing the terrible news of that day, especially about his children all being killed:] 20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

* And so, I say that when you feel lonely or totally alone in some situation—praise the Lord, your Creator, Savior and King.
* I say, when you become the target of persecution for your faith in Jesus Christ, if you are accused of making Him your crutch, reply (as one young man did), “He’s not my crutch, He’s my blessed wheelchair!” and glorify Him.
* In one of your tomorrows when your employment is terminated, bless your employer and co-workers and do not be afraid to lift up the Name of Jesus before all as you leave the jobsite for the last time.
* I say, when your life is betrayed one day—pray for your betrayer and bless the Lord.
* On the day you lose your beloved child or spouse, weep and grieve but go to the Lord for grace and comfort and to worship before the eternal God. Don’t go it alone!
* And on that terrible day when your family member or best friend takes the “mark of the beast” and in tears you have to walk away and never look back, praise the Lord our God for the grace that you received to answer His call to be saved.

You may be in denial about the pain and suffering that lies in our future but when it becomes real to you, remain faithful and by faith stand remembering to always first resort to our God and Savior—give Him “the first right of solution”!
The crown of glory will be given to the ones that had answered the suffering of the crown of thorns with praise unto God as they find their way to the cross of Calvary and were set free from the world’s influences and the passions of the flesh.

( † † † )
† Matthew 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted (fleeing from pursuers) for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven. . .
† Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
† 1 Peter 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
† Psalm 145:1 I will extol (lift up high, raise) thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. 2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

Your crown in glory is because of the crown of thorns and
the cross of Christ you bore while alive in this present realm.

May you have more than one crown waiting for you in Glory!

~ Brother Scott ... With ... The Right Word^© ... For Today~

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