I’ll admit, I don’t know a whole lot about T.D. Jakes, but the other day (when I was feeling sorry for myself that someone left Southbrook, spewing and spinning all the way out the door) his book caught my eye.
Or rather, a chapter title within it did.
“Let’em Walk”
Since that doesn’t really mean much in and of itself, I really believe it was God who drew me further on to read. And, as it turns out, T.D. was addressing the very frustration I had, namely…
What do you do about people who decide to leave the church and toss a few hand grenades into the body on the way out the door?
· Do you have a meeting?
· Rally the troops?
· Build a coalition?
· Get your side of the story out?
· Yell and scream or stomp your feet?
· Cry?
No, you just, “Let’em Walk.”
I know it’s not very sexy. It certainly doesn’t make for a good, steamy novel. Certainly, no one is going to want the movie rights to such a boring, uneventful story, but often it does have one very attractive thing going for it.
It’s the right thing to do.
When you’re doing something you know God has called you to do—that’s right, morally, on vision, tracking with the mission, etc., believe it or not, not everyone is going to be happy about it. Last time I checked, Jesus actually did everything right and the majority determined death to be the solution for Him.
And when Jesus stood before a man who thought he had all the power—Pontius Pilate—and said nothing—He set an example for the rest of us.
“Let’em Walk.”
Have you ever thought about whether or not it would have made any difference for Jesus to take up Pontius Pilate on his offer? Seriously. What if Jesus thought, “You know, Pontius is the governor, he does carry a lot of weight and influence. Maybe He can rescue me if I just give “My side of the story.”
That even sounds silly, doesn’t it?
The truth is, it would have made no difference whatsoever. Jesus came to die and Pontius actually had no say in the matter. As Jesus said in John 19:11, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
So, I’ve recently had a revelation in this area of my life. It was powerful, and it was amazingly freeing. Seriously, you ought to look into it if you have been allowing people to hold your heart hostage. Wanna know the secret to freedom from this particular form of bondage?
Simply, Let’em Go!
* BTW There are always some (Chrisitan KGB types) who read into things and think they have it “figured out.” Pastor Rob is talking about so and so. One word…Wrong. This doesn’t refer to someone in particular, but rather the whole deal of trying to convince people to stay in your life, or on mission, or at your church when—they don’t want to. Better to “Let’em Walk.”
And now, without further adeiu, T.D. Jakes
The following is by T. D. Jakes
There are people who can walk away from you.
And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk
Away from you: let them walk.
I don’t want you to try to talk another person into staying with you,
Loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you,
Staying attached to you.
I mean hang up the phone.
When people can walk away from you let them walk.
Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left.
The Bible said that, they came out from us that it might
Be made manifest that they were not for us.
For had they been of us, no doubt they
Would have continued with us. [1 John 2:19]
People leave you because they are not joined to you.
And if they are not joined to you, you can’t make them stay.
Let them go.
And it doesn’t mean that they are a bad person it just means
That their part in the story is over. And you’ve got
To know when people’s part in your story is over so that you
Don’t keep trying to raise the dead.
You’ve got to know when it’s dead.
You’ve got to know when it’s over. Let me tell you something.
I’ve got the gift of good-bye. It’s the tenth spiritual gift,
I believe in good-bye. It’s not that I’m hateful,
it’s that I’m faithful, and I know whatever God
Means for me to have He’ll give it to me.
And if it takes too much sweat I don’t need it.
Stop begging people to stay.
Let them go!!
If you are holding on to something that doesn’t belong to you
And was never intended for your life, then you need to……
LET IT GO!!!
If you are holding on to past hurts and pains ……
LET IT GO!!!
If someone can’t treat you right, love you back,
And see your worth…..
LET IT GO!!!
If someone has angered you,
LET IT GO!!!
If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge……
LET IT GO!!!
If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction……
LET IT GO!!!
If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets
Your needs or talents
LET IT GO!!!
If you have a bad attitude…….
LET IT GO!!!
If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better……
LET IT GO!!!
If you’re stuck in the past and God is trying to take
You to a new level in Him……..
LET IT GO!!!
If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship…….
LET IT GO!!!
If you keep trying to help someone who won’t even
Try to help themselves……
LET IT GO!!!
If you’re feeling depressed and stressed ………
LET IT GO!!!
If there is a particular situation that you are so used to
Handling yourself and God is saying
“take your hands off of it,” then you need to……
LET IT GO!!!
Let the past be the past. Forget the former things.
GOD is doing a new thing for this New Year!
LET IT GO!!!
Get Right or Get Left .. Think about it, and then,
LET IT GO!!!
“The Battle
The following is by T. D. Jakes
There are people who can walk away from you.
And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk
Away from you: let them walk.
I don’t want you to try to talk another person into staying with you,
Loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you,
Staying attached to you.
I mean hang up the phone.
When people can walk away from you let them walk.
Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left.
The Bible said that, they came out from us that it might
Be made manifest that they were not for us.
For had they been of us, no doubt they
Would have continued with us. [1 John 2:19]
People leave you because they are not joined to you.
And if they are not joined to you, you can’t make them stay.
Let them go.
And it doesn’t mean that they are a bad person it just means
That their part in the story is over. And you’ve got
To know when people’s part in your story is over so that you
Don’t keep trying to raise the dead.
You’ve got to know when it’s dead.
You’ve got to know when it’s over. Let me tell you something.
I’ve got the gift of good-bye. It’s the tenth spiritual gift,
I believe in good-bye. It’s not that I’m hateful,
it’s that I’m faithful, and I know whatever God
Means for me to have He’ll give it to me.
And if it takes too much sweat I don’t need it.
Stop begging people to stay.
Let them go!!
If you are holding on to something that doesn’t belong to you
And was never intended for your life, then you need to……
LET IT GO!!!
If you are holding on to past hurts and pains ……
LET IT GO!!!
If someone can’t treat you right, love you back,
And see your worth…..
LET IT GO!!!
If someone has angered you,
LET IT GO!!!
If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge……
LET IT GO!!!
If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction……
LET IT GO!!!
If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets
Your needs or talents
LET IT GO!!!
If you have a bad attitude…….
LET IT GO!!!
If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better……
LET IT GO!!!
If you’re stuck in the past and God is trying to take
You to a new level in Him……..
LET IT GO!!!
If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship…….
LET IT GO!!!
If you keep trying to help someone who won’t even
Try to help themselves……
LET IT GO!!!
If you’re feeling depressed and stressed ………
LET IT GO!!!
If there is a particular situation that you are so used to
Handling yourself and God is saying
“take your hands off of it,” then you need to……
LET IT GO!!!
Let the past be the past. Forget the former things.
GOD is doing a new thing for this New Year!
LET IT GO!!!
Get Right or Get Left .. Think about it, and then,
LET IT GO!!!
“The Battle
Well said, T.D.
Rob Singleton is the lead pastor and founding pastor of 
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John 6
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
Nothing new under the sun. They grumbled about Jesus’ teaching and walked; Jesus not only let them go He offered the twelve the same opportunity!
Luke 9:62
Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Jesus sure wasn’t into begging and second guessing, in fact, He loves us so much He is willing to let us go to hell. As long as Southbrook’s activities line up with the scriptures we need to keep looking and moving forward.
If our choice is to “let them go”, I prayfully hope our choice will also be “to let them return” when they need our love and forgiveness.
There are so many people being reached by your messages. The Lord is using this church to reach thousands each weekend. Sometimes keeping focus on His purpose helps in letting go.
I really needed to read this today, Pastor Rob. Thank you!! I have a few “its” to let go of.
Is “Let’em Walk” the title of the book? I also have a few “its” to let go of as well and could probably benefit from reading this book too.
Thanks for posting this!
We (society in general) have become too sensitive and thinned skinned. I don’t want someone to patronize me. I want the truth and only the truth. I don’t want some watered down, politically correct, “socially acceptable”, candy coated, tip toe through the tulips perversion of the truth. (I would not make a very good polititian.) If God said it, I want to hear it just as he said it. If I have a problem with the truth, I have some soul searching to do. One of the things that I love about Rob’s preaching is that I can count on it being the truth straight from the Bible. I have a great deal of respect for someone that can speak the straight truth instead of trying to walk on eggshells to keep from “offending” someone. This may sound harsh to some people, but sometimes the truth is harsh and we just need to be able to be truthful with ourselves about things in our life that don’t line up with what the Bible says. So Rob, PLEASE keep preaching the Truth.
Pastor, well said, let us attain this spiritual gift of learning to “let go” of the past of anything that will prevent us from attaining the prize of the high calling of Christ! I pray that you will be refreshed in knowing that for everyone that you have to “let em walk” there are at least 2000 (if not more) who are saying, keep teaching us and keep leading us great shepherd!
Sandy Spinney says:
If our choice is to “let them goâ€, I prayfully hope our choice will also be “to let them return†when they need our love and forgiveness.
Sandy,
You bring up an excellent point. Let me answer it. We let people go because it is counterproductive for both the one leaving and the one staying to grasp onto and beg people to stay who do not want to be there. Perhaps (like TD Jakes said) the journey God has them on is supposed to continue in another place. In such a case, we are actually standing in God’s way to hold on to or guilt trip that individual. They need to follow their heart.
Now, they need to do so in a godly manner, but they do need to do so.
As far as coming back?
Always.
Our heavenly Father always receives us with open arms. Shouldn’t we do the same?
Today’s Dailyword.com – Thursday, December 11, 2008
Let Go, Let God
I say yes to the blessing of God’s love.
Clearing negative thoughts from my mind is much like removing grime from a window. Just as washing away a film on glass allows a clearer view and welcomes the warmth of sunlight, prayer helps me gain clarity and become centered in the warmth of God’s love. Removing cluttered thinking is a sure way to let go and let the love of God shine on my circumstances.
Quiet times of prayer allow me to focus on the affirmative and to be open to God’s guidance. In these moments, I relax as I breathe. With each breath, I trust divine love to show me a more positive view of my life and its unfolding events. This time of release steadies me and assures me that continued, limitless blessings are mine. I let go and let God’s love fill my life in marvelous ways.
“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”–Psalm 37:5
Dan Newman wrote,
Hey Buddy,
I thought that “Let’em Go” was one of the best blogs you ever wrote, and a great message. It sounds like “Let it go” is a series in the making, complete with a cool t-shirt designed by Chris Goeller. Let me know if that is the plan.
I was driving behind a vehicle with a Southbrook decal on the back glass and that reminded me that once it warms up, we will have to do another free decal installation day…..maybe for Easter.