Luke 9:23-26

God created all people | all nationalities | all races | all genders | ALL of us.  He loves all of us. He IS goodness, mercy and love but He is also the consummate gentleman and will not force anyone to conform so He gave us freewill.

 Out of His great, agape love He gave up Himself in the Body of Jesus Christ for all of us with one caveat…..we must believe and choose to accept His salvation.

caveat |ˈkavēˌät, ˈkäv-|

noun

a warning or proviso of specific stipulations, conditions, or limitations.

ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin, literally ‘let a person beware.’

As believers we have been given the greatest gift that one can give to another….LIFE. Now it is up to us as believers and our love for Him to spread the good news of salvation to all who will hear it and accept it. 

It takes sacrifice and perseverance to one day hear “well done My good and faithful servant”. 

Although Jesus offered salvation as a free gift, He also warned that following Him would entail suffering and hardship. 

Luke 9:23-26

²³ Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ²⁵ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? ²⁶ For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 

Matthew 10:38

³⁴ When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 

Mark 8:34

²⁵ He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 

John 12:25

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 

Romans 1:16

³³ But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. 

Matthew 10:33

¹²If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. 

2 Timothy 2:12