Wake Up and Make a Difference

In both the Old and New Testaments, we see God directing His people to reach out in compassion to those in need. But what if the Scriptures read like the way so many who call themselves Christians today treat the poor and homeless. We would see Ruth telling her mother-in-law, Naomi, to get lost at her time of need. God would not respond to the cries of the homeless children of Israel in the wilderness, and Jesus wouldn’t have had time to notice the needs of all the “unimportant” people around Him. But thank God, in spite of the teachings and practices of many who say they are followers of Jesus Christ, that is not how the Scriptures read.

The Bible is full of one account after another of people reaching out and helping those in need. It challenges everyone who calls themselves a follower of Jesus Christ to do the same. It is tragic that many churches, and the people in them, would rather blame those in need for their problems than offering them a helping hand.

If only each church would provide an apartment for just ten homeless people during a year, not only would the problem of homelessness be solved, but also those churches would learn from their experiences how hard it is for poor people to find affordable housing.

They would discover that just as pollution can destroy a land of milk and honey, so systems of greed and injustice can deprive God’s children of a home of their own. They would, from their experience, learn how gentrification in the name of economic development has destroyed the single room occupancy hotels and the homes of the poor, as renters are also driven from their apartments without any protection under the law. The words of Jeremiah 22:13-17 (NKJV) would come alive to them.

“Woe to him that builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice; making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms.’ So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red. ‘Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?’ declares the Lord. ‘But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.”

Prosperity theology which milks the spiritually hungry while the preachers get richer and settle into a lifestyle of luxury brings forth these words from Ezekiel 34:2-4,10 (NIV).

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.’ …This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.”

And then to those who would say, “yes something needs to be done to help the homeless but not in my back yard,” hear the words in Amos:

“For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed” (Amos 2:6-7).

In many communities where homes for the poor and elderly once existed, now only vacant lots can be found. Every year 2.5 million people are displaced due to evictions, revitalization projects, or the inflation of housing costs. In response to this Isaiah would declare,

“The Lord will enter into judgement against the elders and leaders of his people: ‘It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?’ declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 3:14-15).

Jeremiah knew that a society was measured by how it responded to the needs of its people. By reading Jeremiah 5:21-31 one sees that wealth which is acquired and maintained in the face of poverty is illegal. Jeremiah boldly proclaims that those people who make excuses for not helping the poor and needy can’t really be the people of God.

From the story of Lazarus and the rich man we learn that, unless the initiative to bridge the gap that exists between us and the poor is taken now, it will be too late when we die – just ask the rich man. Luke 16:23-24 shows where he ended up.

“In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So, he called to him. “Father Abraham have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.”

It’s obvious this rich man had rejected the grace of God. If he had accepted it, he would have welcomed Lazarus into his home, fed him at his table and bandaged his sores. But how many today, even those who call themselves Christians, truly follow Christ to the extent that they will let Jesus bridge the gap which separates them from the poor, homeless and hurting?

Now the rich man is dead. He is in hell and it’s too late. Listen to Abraham in Luke 16:25:

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”

It’s too late now for the rich man. He is dead and what good is his money now. Have you noticed in the parable that the poor man, Lazarus, has a name. He is somebody. But the rich man, his identity was so wrapped around his wealth and social prominence that in this parable he is nameless and is referred to by that which really mattered to him in his life, his money. So, he is called, rich man.

A lot of good that does when he is in hell. This man probably had his religious labels, church affiliation, and all those other things which go along with being rich and respectable, but now he cries out from the pits of hell in verses 27-31:

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also, come to this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ ‘No, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

In the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) Jesus made it clear that if we want to learn to live we better learn to give. He pointed out the accumulation of money, while the poor like Lazarus are ignored, causes one to exist in the deepest, darkest pits of hell.

Many today who chant, “What Would Jesus Do” or WWJD need to look at what Jesus actually did. If such a review took place they would not be so quick to accept as normal the locking of church doors after the weekly sermon when they could be allowing the church to be a real sanctuary that sheltered the homeless. After all wasn’t it Jesus who said, “…foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the son of man has no where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20 NIV). Also, what about that part of the scripture where He says that those who could care less about the hungry, hurting and homeless end up cast into eternal punishment? (See Matthew 25:31-46) It is a fact we are saved by grace but such recipients want to help those in need. Learning to live in that grace means learning to give.

The gap between the rich and poor continues to grow bigger with each passing year. Many have been deceived to the extent that they will vote for those who contribute to these inequalities just because they give lip service to Jesus and claim to be pro life. Irenaeus said, “As long as anyone has the means of doing good to his neighbor and does not do so, he shall be reckoned as a stranger to the love of the Lord.”

The Christ of the scriptures cries out, “Not everyone who says unto me Lord, Lord shall enter the Kingdom of God, but only the ones who do the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

In Matthew 25:31-46 we see that Jesus is not merely concerned about the poor, but completely identifies with them. What we do or don’t do about those who are hungry, homeless, or in prison, we do to Jesus. There is no such thing as fence straddling on this issue. Jesus wants us to take our eyes off our own needs and open our eyes to the pain and suffering around us.

It is disturbing to see the gap between what God intended and what is the current reality of things. There is, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to it, “a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds.” But the good news is—the situation is not hopeless. The Gospel declares, “we are not alone. Jesus Christ is risen and stands ready to help us raise up and make a difference for good in the world we live in.”

When there were no hospitals the people of God created hospitals. When there were no schools or universities, believers created schools and universities. When there were no means for caring for orphans and the homeless, the church established orphanages and rescue missions. The orphan train was a result of caring Christian people taking homeless children out of big cities like New York and placing them with families across America.

Now the poor and homeless are crying out for help and as we listen and respond to their needs, we must get about the task of making a difference for good. Psalm 82:3-4 tells us to “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

The opportunity for believers to make a difference for the glory of God could not be greater. The church has the facilities, and human resources to train the homeless and unemployed. The gospel which the local church preaches provides the hope and the good news needed by so many who have given up. It is this gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ made alive in believers which will create the relationships that are so urgently needed by the homeless, who have frequently been rejected by family and friends.

The Bible doesn’t tell everyone to go to church. It tells the church to go to everyone. “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘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’” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Churches have the buildings with enough space that is unused Monday – Saturdays to house small businesses and industries. The office equipment can serve the needs of those new businesses. In addition, there are committed Christians who have the expertise to serve as advisors for church-sponsored businesses.

The church  can be an “incubator” to a number of businesses at the same time. Before creating the small business, believers must first do an inventory of the business expertise existing in the local congregation. They then need to pray asking God to reveal to them the needs existing among the homeless. In order to do this, you will need to get to know the homeless in your community personally.

Daily the homeless can be found on street corners with their signs asking for help. The followers of Jesus Christ need to build a relationship with these individuals by taking them bags of sandwiches, water, and bus tickets. In the winter, they can give them gloves, hats, and winter coats. As these items are provided, believers need to get to know them as individuals and invite them to church. As the relationship grows and trust is built ask the homeless where they live and visit them there. Psalm 9:18 declares, “For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.”

Find out what it will take for that homeless individual to break the cycle of homelessness. Introduce them to members of your congregation who are lawyers, bankers, owners of small businesses, etc. Invite these congregation members to join in helping break the cycle of homelessness. To illustrate this, let me tell you about my new friend Mike.

I met Mike recently when I was driving east on Gravois Ave. in the city of St. Louis. As I was driving, I saw Mike sitting on a curb with his crutches. Mike had one foot. When I pulled over to talk to Mike, I didn’t even know for sure if he was homeless.

As I started talking with Mike, I learned not only was he homeless, but the night before someone had stolen his backpack with everything he owned. There he sat with not even a shoe on his remaining foot.

I asked Mike if he would like to come with me so I could not only get him a place to stay but start a whole new life. Mike quickly accepted my offer and got into my car. I knew by Mike’s quick response the Holy Spirit was at work. Unless the Holy Spirit had been at work in Mike’s life prior to my encounter with him, he would have refused my offer no matter how desperate he was.

Those resisting the work of the Holy Spirit will not allow Christ and His love to set them free from the cycle of homelessness. This cycle causes the homeless individual to go around and around living in their desperation, frustration, and hopelessness.

When I took Mike to one of the New Life Evangelistic Centers, my wife Debra and the staff working with her found him clean clothing and a sock and a shoe for his foot. Mike had lost his other foot years earlier due to diabetes.

Gary and Keith helped Mike to a room with a bed and showed him where he could shower. The next day Ray put Mike and Eddie on a bus to Jefferson City. Upon arriving in Jefferson City Mike and Eddie were picked up by Carl and John and taken to the New Life Mid America Care Center in New Bloomfield, Missouri. Once they arrived there Eddie and Mike were put in a house together.

As the days passed, it became obvious that Mike was going through fentanyl withdrawal. Eddie would clean up after Mike as Carl earnestly called hospitals throughout Central Missouri in search of a place where Mike could detox. After earnest prayer Carl located St. Mary’s in Jefferson City where Mike got the help he needed.

After Mike was released from the hospital he returned to the New Life Care Center where a job was created for him. Mike now is growing daily in the knowledge of Jesus Christ as he sits in the kitchen making sandwiches with Roger. These sandwiches are then used by the New Life Evangelistic Center staff, who take them to the streets daily sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The hope for America is the love of Christ flowing through the people of God in word and deed. It is the hope for creation and an economy enslaved in a culture of greed. This hope is not religion but a relationship with Jesus Christ, the world’s greatest revolutionary. Jesus has come to set free the captives of greed and the politics of self-service.

It was Jesus who taught us how to break the cultural rules of selfishness and prejudice against the homeless! It was Jesus who touched lepers which was against the rules! It was Jesus who broke the Sabbath by healing people on that day and that was against the rules! It was Jesus who forgave people of their sins and that also was against the rules because those caught in the act of adultery were to be stoned, not forgiven.

Today we live in a society that is increasingly hostile to the poor and homeless. Rules, regulations and ordinances are constantly being created that are making it increasingly difficult to house the homeless and feed the hungry. How many future saints have been lulled to sleep by television and computers, which take more priority in their lives than meeting the needs of the starving and homeless? Jesus was not persecuted as long as he was in the carpenter shop. Stephen wasn’t stoned until he started doing signs and wonders. While Peter was fishing, he wasn’t beaten and put into jail. It was only when followers of Christ (Christians) started putting a passion for the things of God before what was fashionable in the world, that they got in trouble.

James 1:27 tells us that, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” God cares that mothers around the world are crying because their withered breasts are milkless and their children are starving. God cares that mothers in the US find themselves enslaved to utility companies who will cut off their utilities because the company has not gotten their last dollar. God cares that power brokers and fear-laden people support a prison industry that is locking up the poor and mentally challenged in record numbers. Yes, God cares! The question is, do His people care enough to pray and take direct action?

At such a time like this we must pray and pray some more. As we pray, we must be passionately seeking God’s will for our lives. Prayer is the language of the poor. In Psalms 34:6 we read, “This poor man cried and the Lord heard him.”

The more people pray the less worldly they are. The time has come for us to lust after the things of God. Our prayer room is the boiler room for our spiritual life. How we need to pray for a world that is a pigpen surrounded by a church that too often is in a playpen. We must pray earnestly because it is too late to play church. We must arise now as the empowered people of God and engage in earnest PUSH prayers. Push prayers involve passionate prayers that feel the needs of those who are suffering. PUSH stands for Pray Until Something Happens. As a woman in labor is told to push until something happens, the Scripture tells us to engage in PUSH prayers in Matthew 7:7 when Jesus says, “Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

The time has come for us to engage in push prayers that will result in a revival of compassion. As Joel 2:12 declares, “Now therefore says the Lord. Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” The web of impurity and injustice is tightening around the country. The cup of sin is filling up. The Handwriting is on the wall (see Daniel 5).

It is time to wake up and leave the church suppers for the battlefield of prayer and direct action. We have feasted long enough. Now is the time to fast and fight. We have clapped our hands too long. Now it is time to let those hands grasp the sharp two-edged sword of God’s word and fight the principalities and powers. May we be the fearless prophets that God needs at this hour who will be too bold for the system to hold. Today most people who call themselves Christians know more about competition than consecration. They know more about promotion than prayer.

How we need to pray that God will awaken us to the daily opportunities He sends us to serve Him. Life is short and passes so quickly. We need to pray along with David in Psalm 39, “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. But now Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you” (Psalm 39:4-7).

We have that hope because Jesus died for our sins and then rose from the dead. He gives us life both now and for all eternity. If we are truly alive in Christ, we will no longer be God’s chosen frozen saints content to be just sitting on a church pew in hopes of being blessed.

Many years ago, Oliver Cromwell was told of a shortage of precious metal in Old England that was needed for coins. After he sent out his troops to find the precious metals, the soldiers reported back that these metals could only be found in the statues of the saints standing in the churches. To this Cromwell responded, “Well melt down the saints and put them into circulation.”

The time has come for us to stop standing around and let God melt us along with our earthly treasures down until we can be put into circulation doing good in this hurting world. God cares and so must His people. The opportunities to shine are everywhere. We must now move forth by Faith and seize these opportunities to let the love of Christ flow through us on a daily basis into the lives of the hurting, hungry and homeless.

Yours in Christ,

Larry Rice