glory, would give
us dominion and make us kings and priests forever in Heaven. So you see
that there can be no mistake about our being sons and daughters of the
Lord Almighty. We are not only His children, but He has promised us
crowns of glory and thrones of dominion and power.

If you and I were in England to-day and could walk into the Tower of
London, where they keep the crown and the jewels of the royal family,
and we could learn the value of these costly jewels, and crowns and
scepters, it matters not how rich we might be, I am sure we would have
to despair of ever being able to purchase these costly crown jewels.
They are estimated at many millions of dollars. Now, if an earthly
crown, which can only be retained for a few years, is so valuable, how
much more valuable are the everlasting crowns, such as God gives, and
which are to be ours for all eternity? And if we are not able to buy
such an earthly crown, how much less are we able to purchase or buy a
heavenly crown? The heavenly crowns are so valuable that we could never
hope to buy them, therefore God gives them to us because He loves us.

More than two hundred years ago a man by the name of Colonel Blood
attempted to steal the crowns and the crown jewels of England. He was
not altogether successful, but was arrested before he escaped with them.
But do you know that there are many who would steal your crown, and my
crown of everlasting glory, if they possibly could? Therefore, God tells
us in the Bible, "Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy
crown." (Rev. iii: 11.) So you see it is very important that we should
be constantly on our guard. The King of England has soldiers to watch
day and night, lest any one should steal his crown. And so also you and
I need to be constantly on our guard, lest wicked people and sinful
influences should rob us of our heavenly crown.

Not only are crowns sometimes stolen, but sometimes they are also lost.
About fifty years ago some people were digging in France, and they found
eight costly crowns, all lying close together, having been lost or
hidden away in the earth. Four of them were very costly and very
beautiful, while the others were smaller crowns. The first four were for
the king and the queen, and the prince, and one other of the older
children, and the other four crowns were for the younger children of the
king's household. Yet you see that the father and mother and all the
children lost their crowns.