Last year was the year of praise. You know what? It was quite challenging for me. I remember asking myself, “How is this the year of praise?” What is praiseworthy about my life? What is there to show that this is indeed the year of praise?

It was not until this year during the first Zoe Ministration when Prophet Elvis proclaimed that this is the year of crowning and everything fell into place like a jigsaw. He started by quoting from the book of James.

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

‭‭James‬ ‭1:12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I boomed in jubilation because everything now made sense. I simply thought that because 2023 was the year of praise, I should have abound in every good thing (which should be the case, but God takes us through different individual paths). At some period, I was bitter that the year wasn’t going as I wanted.

After the ministration, I sat down to meditate and I resolved, “Whether I get sad, whether I am in pain, or facing challenges, He is to be praised.” It perfectly fit with all the scriptures that I was meditating on that year which include the popular Philippians 4:4 that says you should always rejoice in the Lord.

Another powerful scripture I was constantly meditating on was this:

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 NIV

I found myself struggling so much to make 2023 the year of praise forgetting that that wasn’t my work. My work was for me to allow God to put an new heart and a new spirit in me and remove the heart of stone that was always making me struggle to be perfect in the flesh.

I meditated so much on the verse above and even came to the realization that I should be struggling to follow God’s decrees. His simple decrees of, “Be Ye Still and know that I am God?” or “Those that wait on God shall renew their strength?” I forgot that I just needed to house the Spirit of God and He says that He will move me to follow my decrees.

Another verse I was really meditating was this one

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 NIV

I kept asking, at which level in the spirit was this person at that beside everything, with no animals and no single crop he will be joyful in God his savior? At what depth was he that even if he had nothing he will still rejoice in the Lord?

This was the same place David was when he said, “In a dry and barren land, I thirst for you” – Psalms 63:1. I sat down and asked myself, “I am really there? Am I on a deliberate journey to this place?” If everything is stripped from me will I rejoice in the Lord? Will I be joyful in Him?

So why is this the year of crowning?

Let’s go back to James. Many people I know endured temptation and hardship in 2023 and James says that blessed is the man that endures temptation. If you endured temptation in 2023, count yourself blessed. It continues to say that, “For when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

Do you realize that there are two conditions to receiving the crown from that statement? Have you been approved? Do you love the Lord? What approves you? Your works? How frequent you went to church and never sinned last year? Do you realize that in a race, most people finish the race but not all of them are crowned?

I sincerely do not know how I survived 2023 if I were to weigh everything in the physical. Everything has been through the grace of God. But that was not the major thing that happened to me. I grew. I grew in leaps and bounds. I grew in faith, I grew in trust and I discovered places in the spirit that I never knew existed before.

So am I ready to receive the crown? For me, I get crowned every day. I postured myself and resolved that every single day of 2024 I get crowned. Whether I am sleeping, playing, working or having some good time, I am getting crowned.

How do you get crowned? It is simple.

Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4:7‭-‬9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

All the temptations and trials and hardships that you got back in 2023, were to give you wisdom and in wisdom, you were to get understanding. Understanding will promote you, it will bring you honor and it will crown you.

Have you ever realized that legit persons, those that are genuinely crowned are mostly humble, very wise and understanding? It is because they embraced wisdom. Even Jesus himself was crowned on the cross. Imagine yourself dying with a crown? Story for another day.

Finally,

thus says the Lord God: “Remove the turban, and take off the crown; Nothing shall remain the same. Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted. Overthrown, overthrown, I will make it overthrown! It shall be no longer, Until He comes whose right it is, And I will give it to Him.”

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭21:26‭-‬27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The verse above simply means that it is time for you to take over. Heathens will be falling all over this year and it is time to take up their place. Start making plans. Stop the mentalities of, “How shall this be?” Prepare for the crown. It is time the princes started riding their horses and servants now get into their positions.

This year and other subsequent years, we are going to see the rise of the children of God. Why? Because the mountains/kingdoms of the world are toppling and now the mountain of God is being risen high. Let’s say you want to take up the fashion industry, how are you ready to receive the crown of fashion?

It is sad that most people think of crowning as just about money, a house here and a good car. Well, crowns are only given to the royalty; to kings and queens. Mere workers are never crowned.

A crown means dominion. When you are crowned in something, it means that you have jurisdiction over that thing. It means that you can make and pass laws over it because you are in charge. This is why every king is powerless until they are crowned.

Now the question to you is, are you ready to remove the turban and get the crown? Are you ready for crowning? Well, join us in fellowship this and every Friday and come learn how to fully prepare for crowning. Details are on the poster below.