What Should You Do When A Homeless Person Asks You For Money? Part 2

Yesterday, I made a video talking about what to do when a homeless person asked for money. I figured I would share a couple of stories from some things that have happened. I have some fails too. Maybe one day, I’ll share the fails. 

One time, we had a group of eight people stay with us in our 600-square-foot apartment because I thought it was the right thing to do. That didn’t end up good, but maybe some successes. 

I remember one time, this guy actually didn’t beg or ask me for money. I just saw him sitting in front of the store, looking dirty with all of his stuff. I just knew he was my guy.

Same thing I said yesterday. You know what? I went up. I said, “Hey man, anything you need prayer for?” He goes, “Yeah. Man, I need prayer for a lot of things.” I was like, “Well, give me one, man. “Let me know one thing.” I said, “All right. Yeah, God can help with that.” “Two things?” “Yeah, God can help with that.” “Three things?” “Yeah, God can help with that, man.” I sat there for 45 minutes just listening to this guy as he shared a story. 

Now, as he was talking, he goes, “Man, if I get at around even two or three people, I get the shakes like real bad. I have to leave.” He had this giant fear of people. It just popped in my mind, “Man, someone you were close to or you loved either hurt you or left you.” He’s like, “Yeah. Every single person I’ve ever loved has died. I watched my best friend get blown up next to me in Vietnam. I had a girlfriend in high school. She died.” 

“One of the number one things that God says in the Bible to not do is do not fear.” I said, “Man, you need to repent the fear that if you get close to someone, they’re going to die.” I led the guy in some prayers renouncing that fear. Immediately, he goes, “Look,” he told us his hands aren’t shaking anymore. 

Then, as he was talking, he was telling me how he had had this back surgery. They had fused four discs in the back. I said, “Man, you want to pray for your back.” He started bending over and he goes, “No. man, my back just got healed. My back is healed.” When a spirit of fear left him, so did his back pain. 

But you know what’s cool? The dude gets delivered, he gets healed. But you know what mattered to him? When I was leaving, he just kept on saying, “Man, I just knew I would have someone talk to me today. I just knew I would have someone to talk to me today.” Dude gets set free of 30 years of oppression, a spirit of a fear of man. He gets healed of a problem in his back that he had had for who knows how long and the thing that mattered most to him, it was nothing more than someone sitting down and listened to him. 

Like I said yesterday, figure out their name. Find out their name and go and sit with them. Talk story with them. Ultimately go and eat with them. That’s what it says to do in Luke Chapter 10. Go eat with people. 

One more. When we came down to Waikiki, we started working with the homeless. I knew we needed to do something to get the homeless in one place at one time. They’re kind of all scattered throughout the city. We started bringing in a hot meal that they could look forward to every week. It turned into pizza. So, we bring eight extra-large pizzas to the street every single week so we can eat with people. 

Now, one thing I wanted to do. I wanted to make a commitment to be consistent. Every single week, go to the same place at the same time for five years. That was my goal. I want to just keep coming every single week for five years and won’t stop. That’s what we did. We bring dinner every Tuesday night. 

I remember this couple. They started to come little by little. They said, “Man, we need some prayer.” Little by little, they started coming to church. Little by little, they started working their way off the streets. 

One of these days, I got to do a video with this girl. They moved to Hawaii to get off their drugs. When they got here, the guy who was supposed to help them get off their drugs was actually addicted to drugs himself living on the street. So, they’re on the streets. She was having to prostitute herself to be able to get money to live. They were addicted to everything. slowly by slowly, by coming and eating dinner with us on Tuesday nights, she got herself clean off the streets, was able to get her stuff together and she relocated and went back home and reconnected with her kids. She’s kind of an amazing person. Amazing story. 

It’s just two stories:

1. Offering prayer, listening to someone, then the power God will change your life. 
2. Consistently going and serving the homeless and we were able to see people get set free of things that had been keeping them in bondage for years and years. Get set free of drugs, no longer prostituting. 

God is good. What do you guys think? Tell me some stories of how you were able to help the homeless.