The Crown
Rhonda Lee Rogers
Rhonda and her husband Timothy are the Founding Senior Pastors of Rhema Mexico, a thriving church and Bible college network based in Mexico City. In her role as National Director, Rhonda is expanding the Rhema network through church and Bible college planting throughout the nation. Passionate about God’s love for people, Rhonda is dedicated to speak heart to heart while preaching the power of the Gospel. With more than 25 years of ministry experience, Rhonda reaches the hearts of God’s people through her quirky humor, worshipful music and transparency. Founder of “Mujeres Extravagantes,” an international woman’s ministry, she is reaching thousands through her annual convention and ministry outreaches. Leading others to Christ is Rhonda’s delight and her prayer is that your faith will stand in the power of God!
Rhonda’s signature scripture sums up her heart for ministry: “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Cor 2:4-5).
A native of Lansing Michigan, Rhonda has been married to her Bible college sweetheart for more than 25 years, and she is mother of 3 wonderful adult children: Hannah, Tiffany and Matthew; mother-in-law to Joshua, and grandmother of Sophia & Judah. Rhonda graduated in 1990 from Rhema Bible Training College US.
You can contact Rhonda by visiting www.rhemamexico.org or www.timrogersministries.org.
FaceBook: Rhonda Rogers
Twitter: Rhonda @pastorarhonda
Instagram: PastoraRhonda
My passion in life is teaching, training, and mentoring others from the Word of God for success in life. I know the Word of God when applied to our lives has the power to refresh our spirit, renew our bodies and restore our souls. Recently I have been on a quest to experience deeper peace, joy, and power in my relationship with Christ. I realized that I wanted to walk in a higher level of the divine power Christ promised to believers.
So I began to ask the Lord to help me go deeper in my understanding and He reminded me of a statement I’ve made for years, “We’ve been born again to privilege and with that comes specific obligations.” This saying is a re-tool of a movie line from the film “Ever After.” I truly believe it is possible to rule and reign in this life by the power of the Holy Spirit and experience supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit daily. We’ve been crowned by God to rule and reign with Christ, so what does that look like? How do I actually live it experientially? That is what the journey to discover the power of the crown is all about!
I hope my journey inspires you to re-focus on salvation, re-fire your passion for Christ, and re-fine your esteem for the Kingdom of God by discovering and implementing the power of the crown.
The power of the crown is based on the revealed wisdom of God and our determination to implement that wisdom in our daily routine without fail, without bending, without apology, and without bowing to the whims of humanity.
The Wisdom of God
1 Corinthians 2:7-13 (AMPC)
But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God–[that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence]. None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready for those who love Him, who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed. Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny]. For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns comes to know and comprehend the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have not received the spirit that belongs to the world, but the Holy Spirit Who is from God, given to us that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly bestowed on us by God. And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Holy Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language to those who possess the Holy Spirit.
Christians are living examples of those who realize, comprehend, and appreciate the gifts of divine favor and blessing that God has given us. We are to take our place as children of the living God—the sons and daughters of the one true King—and rise up and own the crown, wear the crown, BE the crown!
To understand who we are, we need to understand where we have been:
Genesis 1:26-28 (AMPC)
God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.
Genesis 2:7 (AMPC)
Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being.
In the garden, God Himself breathed into mankind the Spirit of Life, the very DNA of God the part of God that makes us eternal.
Genesis 3:1-7 (AMPC)
NOW THE serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field, which the Lord God had made. And he [Satan] said to the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden, Except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die, For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity. And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate.
Eve’s focus was on THE TREE to make one wise, but God is the one who makes us wise by His Spirit! There is nothing in this life that should take the place of God. We’re to look to Him for wisdom and knowledge. When God created us, He DELIBERATELY created us without the knowledge of evil. But Adam and Eve made a choice to disobey God and we lost the infusion of the Spirit; we became mortal, death began to reign, and that day we lost the crown.
Genesis 3:7 (AMPC)
Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves apron like girdles.
In the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed, the Glory of God—the Spirit of Life that radiated from the inside out—the Glory which clothed Adam and Eve, left them, and for the first time their eyes were opened to the fact that something was different. They actually did die, but not according to the natural way of man. The Holy Spirit of God left them and they were separated from vital union with God for the first time.
Psalm 8:4-6 (NLT)
What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? Yet You have made him but a little lower than God [or heavenly beings], and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet:
God is mindful of mankind because He made us in His Image! Adam and Eve did not recognize or esteem the power and obligation of the crown to obey God so they could rule and reign with power over the works of God’s hands. They had the authority to operate in the power of God’s Word. They could have—should have resisted the devil, but they did not resist; they yielded to the devil and thus forfeited their authority to rule and reign.
Refocus on Salvation
Romans 3:23 (NLT)
For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.
The Glory of God is the Spirit, light and life of God!
We were created to focus on good, to focus on God, to walk, talk, and reign with Him. Our job was to focus on God. Our full-time job was to get to know God, tend to the garden, and enjoy life. It wasn’t a hard job description; four simple points:
- Fellowship with God
- Rule and reign
- Live free from the knowledge of evil
- Multiply upon the earth
The freedom to choose gave us the right to choose, but our forefathers chose the wrong path. Now humanity must refocus our attention on the promised Savior and salvation, and the precious work Christ would perform to reestablish our vital union with the Father God.
Romans 10:1-4 (AMPC)
BRETHREN, with all my heart’s desire and goodwill for Israel, I long and pray to God that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a [certain] zeal and enthusiasm for God, but it is not enlightened and according to correct and vital knowledge. For being ignorant of the righteousness that God ascribes which makes one acceptable to Him in word, thought, and deed and they, seeking to establish a righteousness—a means of salvation of their own, they did not obey or submit themselves to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the Law the limit at which it ceases to be, for the Law leads up to Him Who is the fulfillment of its types, and in Him, the purpose, which it was designed to accomplish, is fulfilled. That is, the purpose of the Law is fulfilled in Christ as the means of righteousness right relationship to God for everyone who trusts in and adheres to and relies on Him.
In others words, we cannot choose our own way, our own path, or our OWN journey to God. The prescribed way of the crown must be followed in order to enjoy the benefits. We must come through Christ, in the way God prescribed. To walk in the power that comes with salvation, we have to refocus on walking with wisdom to do the will of God at all times.
1 Timothy 4:1 (NLT)
But the Holy Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach.
Never before in human history have we seen the acceleration of events highlighting the fact that we are living in the last days. Never before have there been so many headlines confirming the seducing doctrines of demons that humanity is swallowing hook-line and sinker! Never before have we seen the need for believers to rise up and take their place in the Kingdom of God on the earth to teach and preach God’s Word, but to also apply the Word in the prescribed manner.
2 Timothy 2:1-2 (NLT)
Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.
Re-fire Your Passion for Christ
Jesus is the firstborn of God, therefore the promise and the blessing of the firstborn belongs to Him. Everyone who is in Christ partakes of the rights and privileges that were lawfully purchased on the cross by Christ, which gives you and I the legal grounds to rule and reign in the earth. When Christ ascended to His Throne, we were seated with Him. In other words, you and I ascended to His throne—not our throne—but HIS throne. His blessing became our blessing. His authority became our authority. We rule and reign with Him!
Galatians 4:4 (AMPC)
But when the (FULLNESS OF TIME) the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born subject to [the regulations of] the Law.
John 1:14 (AMPC)
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.
Christians are anointed and empowered to lead others to the knowledge of Christ. In the Old Testament, priests, prophets and kings were anointed to advise the people of the land on the right way to live and govern according to the Word of God. In the Old Testament, the people did not have the Spirit of God so they had to inquire of those who were anointed and ordained to lead the nation. But now that we have received salvation and our vital union with God has been restored to its original state we once enjoyed in the garden, we are required to know the will of God and to walk in His will upon the earth.
Our job on earth is not about acquiring accomplishments for God, building the Kingdom for God, obtaining the titles, the travel, the finer things of life…the job is to know God…then all these other things will be added to us by God—just the way it was in the garden.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 (NLT)
As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth.
He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.
Hebrews 12:16-24
Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
In Christ, we all partake of the blessing of the firstborn. NO ONE has a right to what belongs to you, not the title and not the blessing. Treasure it and it will be a treasure to you! Esteem the things of God and they will esteem you.
Refine your Esteem for the Kingdom of God
Honor the king and the crown. Adam and Eve did not esteem their place. They did not realize the responsibility of standing their ground and resisting the devil. They did not understand the power of the crown. For me, the Lord illustrated the power of the crown while I was watching the new Netflix show, The Crown.
The Netflix show is the story of Queen Elizabeth II and her ascension to the throne. It brings history to life by taking us on her journey—the journey of self-discovery and the discovery of the obligations that come with being born to privilege.
Prior to her father’s death Elizabeth and her husband Prince Phillip were struggling to understand their place within the Royal Family. They knew that upon her father’s death she would ascend to the throne, but the job description of that role was still unfamiliar to them both. They did not fully understand the role of the crown and the obligations they would be responsible to uphold.
Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, was dying and was worried that his son in law would not support his daughter in her new role as Monarch, so George took Phillip hunting to explain what his new role would be within the kingdom. The dying king told his son-in-law that his daughter would become queen upon his death and that SHE was the new job. He said, “Your titles, privileges, and wealth are not the job; SHE IS THE JOB.” Protecting her, loving her, honoring her is your job. She IS the crown, and everything she does must represent the kingdom, the crown.
I don’t know about you, but I can get caught up in the “to do list,” and as I am about the Master’s work, I find that I focus on what I need to do and I get confused about the order of my job. It becomes about the church, the students, the expansion, the meeting, the this or the that, when all the time none of that is the JOB…Christ is the JOB—knowing Christ is the job.
Queen Mary, Elizabeth’s grandmother, wrote to her on the day her father died and in her letter she said this: “I’ve seen many great rulers brought down by their inability to separate duty from their personal indulgences. While you mourn the death of your father, there is someone else you must mourn…Elizabeth. For she has been replaced with Elizabeth Regina and the two Elizabeths will be in constant conflict, but the fact is that the crown must win…must ALWAYS WIN.”
Elizabeth became queen overnight upon the death of her father. You and I became royalty overnight upon the death of our Lord and Savior. When we take our place to rule and reign as Christ’s ambassadors on the earth, we must rule in humility, love, and righteousness. We’ve been born again to privilege, and with that come specific obligations! Our crown is the authority we’ve been given to wear as Christ’s ambassadors; the Kingdom of Heaven takes precedence in every situation. Meaning, it always goes first and stands alone.
The crown represents the Kingdom. It represents the prescribed operating system of the Kingdom. In the Kingdom of God, the righteousness of the Kingdom must win, must always win over our personal preferences or the preferences of any other human being. We must always choose to govern our lives by the prescribed ways of the Lord. Doing this is the very thing that will bring great distress to our lives because we don’t operate the way the world wants us to, we don’t go with the flow, we are upholding a higher standard, and the world will not like it. But it is also the very thing that brings great recompense of reward, and for me personally, that is peace, joy, and power in the Holy Ghost! “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” It’s about the Kingdom of Heaven’s way in all things and at all times. These are the specific obligations we must uphold as we take our place and represent the Kingdom of Heaven.
We know that the ways of the world will grow darker and darker, and when we do not side in with the world, we become their target. Having done all, stand and let the crown speak!
In Great Britain, there are two divisions of government. These two divisions must work together and trust one another to be effective in their governance. They are called the dignified and the efficient. The monarch is the dignified and the government is the efficient. The DIGNIFIED give significance to the EFFICIENT.
There are two divisions of government in the Kingdom of Heaven, too. These two must work together and trust one another to be effective in their governance. They are called the vine and the branches. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. The vine gives significance to the branches. Each one has a part to play, but they must work together. They must trust each other and respect each other’s rank and office to be effective.
Jesus is our Monarch—the DIGNIFIED. We the branches are the EFFICIENT. When the Word of God goes forth, God dignifies it, signifies it, and authorizes it to be established on earth through the branches, the efficient Christians.
God Gives Significance to the Bearers of His Name
God uses imperfect people to establish and accomplish His perfect plan. You might not be called to be a great preacher, but you are called to be a great ambassador for the Kingdom of Heaven! We are the AMBASSADORS of Christ. We walk down the paths that were established by our forefathers of the faith. We walk down them in holy reverence and honor for the dignified name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Colossians 1: 20-28 (AMPC)
And God purposed that through and by the intervention of Him, the Son, all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him, [the Father] made peace by means of the blood of His cross. And although you at one time were estranged and alienated from Him and were of hostile attitude of mind in your wicked activities, Yet now has [Christ, the Messiah] reconciled [you to God] in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father’s] presence. [And this He will do] provided that you continue to stay with and in the faith [in Christ], well-grounded and settled and steadfast, not shifting or moving away from the hope [which rests on and is inspired by] the glad tidings (the Gospel), which you heard and which has been preached [as being designed for and offered without restrictions] to every person under heaven, and of which [Gospel] I, Paul, became a minister. [Even] now I rejoice in the midst of my sufferings on your behalf. And in my own person I am making up whatever is still lacking and remains to be completed of Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the church. In it I became a minister in accordance with the divine stewardship which was entrusted to me for you [as its object and for your benefit], to make the Word of God fully known [among you]–The mystery of which was hidden for ages and generations [from angels and men], but is now revealed to His holy people (the saints), To whom God was pleased to make known how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ within and among you, the Hope of [realizing the] glory. Him we preach and proclaim, warning and admonishing everyone and instructing everyone in all wisdom (comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God), that we may present every person mature (full-grown, fully initiated, complete, and perfect) in Christ (the Anointed One).
Paul understood what it meant to put the crown first. He understood that the crown must always win. When you stand for righteousness you may feel like you are standing alone, but the Lord is with you to strengthen you and pour out supernatural grace to enter into the rest of peace and joy and to overcome the snarls of the enemy. Then having done all, stand and see the miracle working power of God move into overdrive for you—great supernatural manifestations break forth to meet the needs of the people.
In every situation and circumstance, when we put the Kingdom first, great power is made available. The grace of God to do the right thing causes us to become steely-eyed in the face of adversity and empowers us to stand on God’s side at the expense of our own personal preferences or indulgences.
Philippians 3:17-21 (AMPC)
Brethren, together follow my example and observe those who live after the pattern we have set for you. For there are many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, who walk (live) as enemies of the cross of Christ (the Anointed One). They are doomed and their fate is eternal misery (perdition); their god is their stomach (their appetites, their sensuality) and they glory in their shame, siding with earthly things and being of their party. But we are citizens of the state (commonwealth, homeland) which is in heaven, and from it also we earnestly and patiently await [the coming of] the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [as] Savior, Who will transform and fashion anew the body of our humiliation to conform to and be like the body of His glory and majesty, by exerting that power which enables Him even to subject everything to Himself.
In these moments, supernatural power is unleashed in the heavenlies to assist us as we walk in a higher realm of supernatural power on the earth. I have experienced it first-hand, and it is the very thing that has brought me greater peace, joy, and power in life and ministry. In your own life and ministry, let the crown win…let it always win!
