"Tell Somebody"

U.S. Army Chaplain (MAJ) Ken Harris, Jr.

West Fort Hood Chapel

Second Sunday of June

Killeen, TX

27 June 2010

Big Idea: For some believers to follow Jesus means more than just believing in Him. It also means becoming a geographical nomad.

Scriptural References: EAI (Expository; Application; Illustration); Geographical Nomads: People without a fixed home who packs up and move together – from place to place - when necessary; Luke 9:57-62 (The Cost of Following Jesus); Luke 10:38-42 (Martha and Mary – Residents of Bethany); Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV)The Great Commission: And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”; Luke 24:1-12 (ESV) The Resurrection and the story of Women finding the empty tomb and went and told these things to the eleven disciples; John 20:10-18 (ESV) Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene." John 20:19-23 (ESV) Jesus appears to the disciples; John 20: 24-29 (ESV) Jesus appears to Thomas;

I. ANNOUNCE THE PERICOPE: Luke 9:57-62 (ESV)

II. READ THE PERICOPE: Luke 9:57:62 (ESV)

III. READ THE TEXT: Luke 9:57 (ESV) - As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

IV. PURPOSE: To motivate the hearers to “tell somebody” that there is a price tag to consider before committing oneself to following Jesus Christ. Because it could mean becoming a geographical nomad.

V. SERMONIC THEME: "Tell Somebody!”

VI. INTRODUCTION:

Who can ever forget what The Good Book says in Matthew 28:19 -20 (ESV)? For don’t you remember, Jesus is quoted as saying: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

In other words, Jesus commissioned the 11 disciples to duplicate themselves in every nation amongst every ethnicity.

******* TAKE 5 BEATS ******

MOVE 1: Afterwards, he requested them to baptize the new recruits (or the new Christians) in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that he had commanded of the disciples.

a. A Great Commission which comes straight from the horse’s mouth (so to speak)?

b. And to think, for years, I’ve believed that the Great Commission was given to every believer to personally and directly embrace “ONLY”.

c. I don’t believe that anymore. I now believe that the Great Commission is “both and”. It’s for all believers to embrace with the understanding that some can “only” embrace indirectly while others can embrace missionary ministry directly.

d. This is primarily because some “believers” will never “personally” visit other countries (Kuwait, Hungary, Bosnia, China, Russia, Korea, Japan, Africa, Iraq, Germany, Afghanistan, Netherlands) or witness to other nationalities, unless they are rightfully taught to rid themselves of certain prejudices and biases and join broader missionary endeavors.

e. The Great Commission embraces the ministry of being called to local and distant ministry. It embraces the ministry of being called to be a geographical nomad like the earlier disciples whom Jesus gave the direct commission unto.

f. More specifically, my brothers and sisters, some of us have been bless with circumstances that allows for travelling outside of our communities and abroad while others have been blessed to target specifically their native community.

g. Still others are called and commissioned to do both. No wonder, it’s called the Great Commission.

h. I, now, believe that the Great Commission is a huge inclusive task which is imperative for all believers to understand and to embrace directly or indirectly with the understanding that some may have the means to embrace the Great Commission both directly and indirectly and some may not. Some believers may be called by God to embrace the Great Commission indirectly.

i. Webster’s online collegiate dictionary defines disciples as one of the 12 followers of Christ; or one of the 70 followers sent forth by Christ in Luke, Chapter 10.

j. My brothers and sisters, to be clear, I now believe that although this commission pertains to all believers (in general), The Great Commission was initially, specifically given to a particular group of believers – Jesus’ Eleven Disciples.

****** TAKE 5 BEATS *******

MOVE 2: The ones that had become geographical nomads.