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Repairing the Hole in Our WorldThe Hole in Our Gospel – this is the last step on the journey of this campaign. Today is Palm Sunday, when tradition would dictate that we talk about Jesus the King. And we will -- Jesus, the King in our lives, and our participation with Him here on earth. There are many holes in the world today: holes of fear and sorrow, holes of unforgiveness and hatred, of hunger and poverty, of disease and spiritual darkness. Many of these holes are repairable. But it isn’t just a financial or social or governmental problem – although all those things play into it. The whole Gospel is needed to repair the holes in the world, and as Christ-followers we play a part in the repairs. Two days ago the Haitian government released a plan to rebuild Haiti in the aftermath of the quake. It’s an amazing document that sounds incredibly good and optimistic. It deals with all the things that a government can bring to a people. But government can’t command healing for 200 years of pain and abuse. It can’t mandate forgiveness, or the value of every person, or hope. These are conditions of the heart and not subject to governments. So there’s a hole in Haiti’s plan that only God and His Church can fill. Without the healthy Church in Haiti, they will not realize their dream, for they desperately need what only He can bring. Luke 10:1-20 We all know that Jesus had 12 disciples. But there was a wider circle of followers who were also disciples. In Luke, Chapter 10, Jesus sent out 72 followers (or disciples) two by two, to be ambassadors to the dark places around them - to repair the holes in their world. Before this they had only watched as Jesus spoke and ministered. But that was not the ultimate intention. They were not to remain (as we are not to remain) spectators on the sidelines of what God is doing. It must have been very difficult for those 72 men to set out on that journey. “Like lambs among wolves,” Jesus had said. (Get ready. You might die, or be offended or hurt or rejected. Things could go wrong.) But they did what Jesus told them to do. And when they returned, they returned with joy and excitement about all that had happened! While on their journey, they learned that: 1. Evil can be defeated by repairing the holes in this world. Jesus told the 72 there was even more going on than what they thought! “I saw Satan falling from heaven like lightning!” As they did what Jesus told them to do, they were defeating evil. Spiritual transformation was taking place – Satan was losing his grip. Disciples then and now have the power to transform the spiritual dimensions of this world by doing God’s purpose. Jesus told them that it wasn’t all about seeing evil defeated - but seeing God’s purpose advanced. “Rejoice that your name is written in heaven.” It’s not what we’re against – it’s what we’re for. 2. We bring Jesus joy when we repair the holes in this world. One of the greatest things about the New Testament is that the writers feel comfortable revealing the emotions of Jesus. When Jesus heard the things that His disciples had accomplished, Luke says He was filled with joy! He broke into prayer, thanking the Father. He was seeing the possibilities of the mission, the vision.
That’s what this campaign has been about – connecting the dots. It’s been about our relationship with God and our willingness, as His ambassadors, to bring mercy and justice to the world “…on earth as it is in Heaven.” God has given us a vision to serve our community and the world –
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