After the wilderness season, there is a decision to make. Jesus does not simply call us out of hardship, He calls us into discipleship. “Take IT Up” challenges believers to understand what it truly means to take up their cross daily.

The cross is not comfort. It is surrender. It is dying to self, rejecting the patterns of this world, and living transformed by Christ. Because Jesus said “It is finished,” our salvation is secured by grace through faith. But discipleship requires obedience. It requires denying ourselves, taking up the cross, and following Him fully.

This sermon will walk us through the finished work of Christ, the gift of salvation, and the daily responsibility of the believer to live crucified with Christ. Leaving the wilderness means stepping into identity, surrender, and active faith. The question is not whether Jesus carried His cross. The question is whether we will carry ours.

Matthew 16:24 (ESV)

Luke 9:23 (NIV)

Matthew 16:24–27 (NIV)

Matthew 16:24 (NKJV)

John 19:30

Romans 3:23–25

Romans 6:23

Romans 10:9–10

Romans 5:8

1 Peter 3:18

Colossians 2:13–14

John 3:36

John 6:40

John 3:17–18

Matthew 16:24 (Step 1 emphasis)

Romans 12:2

Galatians 2:20

Ephesians 4:22–24

Matthew 16:24 (Step 1 & Step 2 emphasis)

Matthew 16:24 (Step 1, Step 2 & Step 3 emphasis)

John 20:24–27

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