WHO'S UNDER YOUR BRIDGE?

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
22 January 2006

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Acts 4

32. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
33. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
34. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales
35. and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
36. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement),
37. sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.


-- a couple of years ago in Atlanta, 11-year old Sade Law would get out of school and climb on a bus that would carry her to an after-school program -- as she traveled along Peachtree Street, she looked out her window and watched the city go by -- and one day she noticed a homeless man living under a bridge along her route
-- almost every day she would see him, sitting on a milk crate and reading the newspaper or sleeping -- and something stirred inside her -- God placed a burden for the homeless on her heart and Sade went into action -- at school, when she was told to pick a topic for a class project, she chose the issue of homelessness -- in October of that year, Sade volunteered at both a soup kitchen and with Atlanta Urban Ministries -- and she launched a food and clothing drive at her school to help the homeless in Atlanta
-- but still, the man under the bridge weighed on her heart -- and she continued to see him through her window almost every day as she traveled down Peachtree Road -- the man under the bridge was Billy Watson, a plumber and carpenter who had been homeless and in prison off and on for 14 years -- Billy wound up on the street because he was an alcoholic and couldn't hold onto a job -- by the time Sade spied Billy under the bridge, Billy was living without hope -- he had no family -- no friends -- no job -- no food -- no home -- he lived under the bridge and looked for food in dumpsters
-- despite all she was doing to help the homeless, Sade wanted to do something for the man under the bridge -- her mother didn't want her to approach the man directly, so they found an advocate for the homeless who worked in a ministry in Atlanta and he agreed to carry supplies to Billy -- Sade prepared a care package for Billy with a blanket, a pair of boots, jeans and other clothes -- and, she also included a note from her to the man under the bridge -- the note ended with this thought: "Please take care of yourself and be safe. I will pray every night that God will watch over you and that something will happen good for you. You do deserve good things to happen for you! Please don't give up."
-- Billy read that note and his heart broke -- because of Sade's influence, Billy told the advocate that he wanted to go to a hospital to deal with the alcoholism -- but, he stayed only long enough to get sober and then went back under the bridge again, relapsing with alcohol -- on Thanksgiving of that year, Sade and her mother carried plates of food to the bridge for him -- they got him to agree to go back to the hospital again -- and this time he stayed
-- Billy completed the program and was released to a residential recovery program in Sandy Springs -- he now shares an apartment with three other men who also are recovering alcoholics and he plans to stay in the program as long as needed -- and then he's going to find a job and start his life over
-- Billy has visited Sade and her mother several times -- they talk on the phone and Sade encourages him to continue with the program while he encourages her with her school work
-- Sade's project on homelessness took first place in a DeKalb County Social Studies Fair -- but for Sade, the most important prize is this: She reached out to a man she noticed from a bus, and that man doesn't live under a bridge anymore.


II. Sanctity of Human Life Sunday
-- today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday -- this is the one Sunday of the year when churches are encouraged to take a moment to observe the sanctity of human life -- and it should be a day when Christians are motivated and called to take action
-- in 2006 in the United States, we find ourselves increasingly surrounded by a culture of death -- abortion continues to stalk our children like a plague -- calls for physician-assisted euthanasia resound in the papers -- while we find ourselves surrounded by the homeless, the hungry, the sick, the poor
-- for far too long, the church has been a silent witness to a culture that has devalued human life -- that has turned its back on its weakest members -- our unborn children -- our elderly -- our poor -- it should not be this way
-- we berate the Hindu culture of India for creating the caste system that makes some people "untouchables" -- humans who have no value in the eyes of society and whose very touch can make another unclean -- while at the same time creating our own class of untouchables in our very own country
-- where is the church? -- where are the Christians calling for justice for all humans? -- are we merely riding through life without even looking out the window at those we pass who are living under the bridge?

-- in the Book of Acts, we see several powerful pictures of the early church -- of the church that Christ envisioned as He died on the cross and as He communicated to His disciples through three years of intensive teaching on what it means to care for others
-- in Acts 2:42-47, we read how the early church devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to their fellowship -- it says that all the believers were together and had everything in common -- they gave to anyone as he had need and enjoyed the favor of all the people -- and God blessed them by adding to their number daily those who were being saved
-- in this passage in Acts, we see a similar statement -- in verse 32, Luke tells us that all of the believers were one in heart and mind -- they acted in one accord -- they sought the will of God and they put their faith into action -- they weren't satisfied with just getting by -- they didn't spend their time locked up in Bible studies and Sunday School -- but went out and demonstrated their love of Christ through their ministry to the sick and the poor and the elderly

-- look back at verse 32

32. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
33. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
34. There were no needy persons among them.

-- oh, how far we have distanced ourself from the early church -- these early Christians shared everything they had, and there were no needy persons among them -- they took care of their own and they took care of those the Lord placed in their path
-- what could the church in America do today if they would only come together in heart and mind -- if all Christians joined together and shared everything they had -- if we actually got intentional about meeting the needs of the people living under the bridge -- about saving the lives of unborn babies -- about demanding respect of our elders and our sick?

-- last year in America, over 250,000 unborn babies were legally killed -- 250,000 souls created and knit together by the Lord God Almighty Himself -- since the passage of Roe vs. Wade, over 40 million babies have been killed in the United States alone -- and yet, by and large, the church is silent
-- sure, we have a few who are active in the pro-life movement -- a few who support crisis pregnancy centers -- a few who protest outside abortion clinics -- but where is the outcry for our children -- for God's children -- in the Christian community as a whole?

-- and it's not just the babies -- Kenneth Connor wrote that other than the unborn, "no single age group in our country suffers more from a diminished view of the value of human life than the elderly" -- just this week, the Supreme Court upheld Oregon's right-to-die law -- a law that takes that first step on the slippery slope to the expected euthanasia of the elderly and the chronically ill
-- in the eyes of many in this country, these souls -- the elderly -- the terminally ill -- the chonically afflicted -- the permanently bed-ridden -- the handicapped -- have lost any meaningful quality of life -- why not dispose of them for their own and society's good? -- isn't this the same argument that we heard during the debates about Terri Schaivo just a few months ago?
-- according to Kenneth Connor, former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm once declared that the elderly had a duty to die and get out of the way -- how long before Governor Lamm's declaration becomes accepted by our society as a whole?

-- and what about those we pass every day who live under bridges in our communities and our cities? -- who is concerned about the plight of the homeless? -- who is reaching out to them?
-- according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness during any given year in the United States alone -- this means that more than one percent of our population this year will be eating out of trash cans and sleeping under bridges -- what happened to the church between verse 34 -- where it says that there were no needy persons among them -- and today?

-- perhaps the answer lies in the rest of this passage and in our hearts
-- look back at verse 34

34. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales
35. and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

-- money and time -- it all comes down to that, doesn't it? -- every single time, it's these two things that ultimately drive every single one of us -- money and time
-- when I was in school, my professor once said that you could learn everything about an animal by its mouth and feet -- he said that would tell you where it lived and what it ate -- "Food," he said, "and sex, are what drives the lives of the animals you will manage"
-- while I was in college observing those around me, I thought that perhaps that maxim held true for people as well -- but now, many years removed from college and living in the real world -- I know that this is not true for the majority of people -- what primarily drives us is not food and sex -- but time and money
-- ask someone what is important to them and it is one of the two -- oh, they may not come out and say it directly, but if you ask them to help feed the poor or donate to a crisis pregnancy center -- the truth will be told -- "I don't have the time to help" -- "I already give to the church" -- "Aren't there government programs that help those people?" -- "I'm don't feel called to help in this case"
-- in verse 33, Luke tells us that "much grace" was upon this early gathering of Christians -- these men and women who had nothing they did not share -- whether it was food or time or money -- I don't think there is anyone in the Christian community in the United States that will dare tell you that "much grace' is upon our churches in this day and age
-- why is that? -- why do our churches continue to decline in numbers and in power? -- why does the church continue to find itself impotent in cases of injustice and the devaluation of human life in its many forms? -- perhaps its because we have made a god out of time and money and have ceased to live up to the name that we have claimed -- perhaps God has removed His hand from His church because He is trying to get us to be the church we say we are -- the Christians we say we are
-- let me ask you a question -- when is the last time you directly helped in an issue related to the sanctity of human life? -- have you given of your time and money to help the unborn, the elderly, the sick, the homeless? -- have you been the Christian you say you are?

-- in this passage, we read that these early Christians gave all they had to the Lord's service -- we aren't even willing to tithe our firstfruits of money and time to the Lord -- did you know that if every person who claimed the name of Christ was to merely tithe on their income -- not to give all that they have -- but to just give 10% -- the church would have enough income to take over Social Security and Welfare and the Food Stamp Program and still have more money than we have right now?
-- what would happen if every Christian in America donated just 4 hours a week -- just 10% of a work week -- to minister directly in sanctity of human life causes? -- what would happen if every Christian in America were simply to write one letter a week to their elected officials, asking for action on the behalf of the unborn, the elderly, the homeless and the sick? -- what would we see happen in America? -- what would we see happen in the church?
-- what would happen if you would make a commitment right now to do something -- to give something -- to someone in need? -- What would happen if you would rise up and actually become the Christian that you say you are?

III. CLOSING

-- several years ago, The Sunday School Times carried the account of a Christian school in India that was created for the children of "untouchables" prior to World War II -- each year the "untouchable" children in that school received Christmas presents from children in England -- the girls got a doll, and the boys got another toy
-- on one occasion, the doctor from a nearby mission hospital was asked to distribute the Christmas gifts to the children in that school -- during his visit, he told the youngsters about a village in India where the boys and girls had never even heard of Jesus -- he suggested to them that maybe they would like to give them some of their old toys as presents to these kids to show the love of Jesus to them -- they liked the idea and they all readily agreed
-- a week later, the doctor returned to the school to collect the gifts of old toys from the children -- the sight was unforgettable -- one by one the children filed by and handed the doctor a doll or toy -- to his great surprise, they all gave the new presents they had just received several days earlier -- when he asked why, a girl spoke up, "Think what God did by giving us His only Son. Could we give Him less than our very best?"

-- for too long, the church in America has been giving less than our very best to those God has called us to minister to -- the unborn, the elderly, the homeless, the sick -- we go about our way every day -- living our lives while passing those in need of our touch -- those God has placed in our path
-- the church in America is guilty of a great sin -- I am guilty of a great sin -- and, there is a good chance that you are guilty of a great sin as well

-- today has been set apart as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday -- may this be the day when the church wakes up -- when we become one in heart and mind -- when we put aside our god of time and money and start to worship the one true God -- the One who calls us to share our lives with those most in need -- may this be the day when much grace once again falls on the church
-- I pray that this would be the last time such a day is needed because the church would be mobilized to go forth in the name of Christ -- sharing everything we have so that there would be no needy persons among us
-- perhaps this is the day that God is calling you to increase your giving to the ministries in this church or to ministries that directly serve the unborn, the elderly, the homeless, and the sick -- perhaps this is the day that God is calling you to give of your time to ministries who reach out to these sacred souls that God has created
-- as I close in prayer, may we all remember that every life created by God has value, and may you respond to His word as you feel called
-- let us pray