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Transcript

Let Them Walk Joel Osteen · A Better Tomorrow

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Speaker 1: God bless you. It's great to be with you today.
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Speaker 1: I hope you'll stay connected with us during the week
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Speaker 1: through our daily podcast, our YouTube channel, social media, and
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Speaker 1: you can come visit us in person. We'd love to
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Speaker 1: have you be a part of one of our services.
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Speaker 1: I'd like to start with something funny. I heard about
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Speaker 1: this young man. He was a huge football fan. He
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Speaker 1: bought two tickets to the Super Bowl months ahead of time,
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Speaker 1: not realizing it was going to be on the same
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Speaker 1: day as his wedding. He had paid a couple thousand
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Speaker 1: dollars for each of the tickets, so he put an
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Speaker 1: ad on Facebook seeing if anyone wanted to go in
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Speaker 1: his place. He said, it will be at three o'clock,
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Speaker 1: First Baptist Church, and her name is Tiffany. No, don't
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Speaker 1: do that, y'all. Here we go. This is my Bible.
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Speaker 1: I am what it says I am. I have what
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Speaker 1: it says I have. I can do what it says
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Speaker 1: I can do. Today, I will be taught the Word
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Speaker 1: of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert. My
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Speaker 1: heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In
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Speaker 1: Jesus' name, God bless you. I want to talk to
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Speaker 1: you today about let them walk. We all have people
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Speaker 1: that God brings across our path that are there for
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Speaker 1: a lifetime. Our spouse, children, friends that we cherish, they're
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Speaker 1: loyal and stick with us through thick and thin. But
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Speaker 1: not every relationship is designed to last forever. There are seasons,
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Speaker 1: and sometimes a good season will come to an end.
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Speaker 1: Who you needed to raise your children may not be
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Speaker 1: the same ones you need when they're grown and gone.
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Speaker 1: Other times, God has taken you higher. You're growing it.
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Speaker 1: The people that have been with you can't go where
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Speaker 1: you're going, so doors will close. One of the hardest
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Speaker 1: things for us is to let people go. You have
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Speaker 1: to recognize when their part in your story is over.
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Speaker 1: Doesn't mean you can't still be friends, but it's not
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Speaker 1: going to be the same. If not, we try to
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Speaker 1: hold on to things that God is finished with. When
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Speaker 1: that season is over, there's no grace for it. There's
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Speaker 1: this tension. They want to leave, but we don't want
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Speaker 1: them to go. Now it's a struggle, a strain, trying
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Speaker 1: to force it to work. But when someone wants to
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Speaker 1: walk away, you have to learn to let them walk.
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Speaker 1: We spend too much time trying to convince people to stay.
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Speaker 1: We have to play up to them, manipulate. Why aren't
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Speaker 1: they calling? Am I not good enough? I hope they
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Speaker 1: come by. Do yourself a favor. Move on with your life.
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Speaker 1: Don't waste another minute trying to convince someone to love you,
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Speaker 1: call you, come see you. You are a gift. You
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Speaker 1: are a treasure, a prized possession. If someone doesn't recognize
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Speaker 1: your value, they don't treat you like the masterpiece that
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Speaker 1: you are with respect, with honor. That's a sign that
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Speaker 1: season has changed. You have to move forward. God has
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Speaker 1: already ordained divine connections for you. People that can't live
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Speaker 1: without you. People that love being with you. Can't wait
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Speaker 1: to see you. And sometimes the reason we're not seeing
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Speaker 1: these people is we're holding on to the wrong people.
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Speaker 1: Quit chasing someone that doesn't want to be with you.
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Speaker 1: Letting them control you, manipulate you, hoping that you'll gain
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Speaker 1: their approval. Then they'll let you in their friend group.
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Speaker 1: Here's the problem. If you do convince them, they become
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Speaker 1: your friend. How you started that relationship is how you're
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Speaker 1: going to have to maintain it. It's going to be
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Speaker 1: a constant struggle to keep performing, manipulating, conniving. Solomon said,
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Speaker 1: unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain.
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Speaker 1: If you'll let God bring your relationships and trust Him
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Speaker 1: with who comes into your life, then it's not a struggle.
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Speaker 1: You can be who you are. You don't live trying
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Speaker 1: to force people to like you, lower your standards to
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Speaker 1: be accepted. Someone doesn't want to be in your life,
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Speaker 1: it's no big deal. You let them go. And it
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Speaker 1: doesn't mean that they're a bad person. Something's wrong with them.
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Speaker 1: They're just not right for you at this time. Maybe
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Speaker 1: they were fine for a season, but this is a
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Speaker 1: new season. And the scripture talks about how God is
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Speaker 1: our doorkeeper. He opens and closes doors in our life.
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Speaker 1: When God closes a door, there's nothing you can do
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Speaker 1: to keep that door open. You can strive and strain,
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Speaker 1: try to talk people into staying, perform better. That's laboring
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Speaker 1: in vain. All that's going to do is wear you out,
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Speaker 1: frustrate you, cause you to get bitter. Try a new
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Speaker 1: approach and let them go. If people can walk away
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Speaker 1: from you, they're not a part of your destiny. Don't
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Speaker 1: take it personally. Don't get offended. Be critical. God is
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Speaker 1: ordering your steps. The people he's ordained to be in
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Speaker 1: your life cannot leave. You can't get rid of them.
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Speaker 1: They love you no matter what. They accept you with
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Speaker 1: no makeup, no coffee. They come when you don't call.
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Speaker 1: They show up when you didn't ask. They laugh with you,
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Speaker 1: cry with you. They don't judge you. You never have
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Speaker 1: to think about performing, manipulating, hoping they like you. They're
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Speaker 1: a divine connection. God ordained them to be there. Now,
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Speaker 1: just the opposite is true. The people that are not
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Speaker 1: supposed to be in your life cannot stay. It's not
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Speaker 1: up to them. God has closed that door. No matter
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Speaker 1: how hard you try, how much you serve, give, play
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Speaker 1: up to, it's not going to change. Take the pressure off.
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Speaker 1: Quit trying to win someone over that's not supposed to
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Speaker 1: be there. We hear that phrase, they ghosted me. Man,
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Speaker 1: they just disappeared. They didn't call. They didn't respond. They
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Speaker 1: may have ghosted you, but sometimes it's the Holy Ghost
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Speaker 1: shutting that door. They don't even know why. It's because
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Speaker 1: God is your doorkeeper. He knows who's good for you
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Speaker 1: and who's not. Who has the right motives and who's
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Speaker 1: just there for what you can do for them? He
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Speaker 1: knows who will add value and move you further into
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Speaker 1: your destiny and who is a distraction, a dead end
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Speaker 1: there to get you off course. Bottom line, if someone
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Speaker 1: doesn't want to be your friend, don't waste another second
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Speaker 1: trying to convince them. If you have to perform to
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Speaker 1: stay in a relationship, it's always a struggle. You don't
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Speaker 1: feel like you measure up. They're not for you. That's
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Speaker 1: laboring in vain. Let God build your house. Trust Him
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Speaker 1: to bring the right people. And here's the key. You
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Speaker 1: have to be at peace with who walks away and
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Speaker 1: at peace with those who don't accept you. Recognize when
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Speaker 1: their part in your story is over. You don't have
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Speaker 1: to get bitter, live offended. God is the one behind
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Speaker 1: the scenes opening and closing doors. And that friend may
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Speaker 1: have been great for 10 years. Then the season changed.
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Speaker 1: They're not around. Or that person walked out on you,
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Speaker 1: broke your heart. I know that's painful, but you have
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Speaker 1: to realize if they left you, you didn't need them.
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Speaker 1: If you needed them for your purpose, for your assignment,
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Speaker 1: they would still be there. The scripture says that God
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Speaker 1: will never leave us or forsake us. If they walked out,
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Speaker 1: ghosted you, betrayed you, and you needed them, that would
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Speaker 1: mean God was forsaking you. You can draw the conclusion
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Speaker 1: if they walked away, their part in your story was over.
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Speaker 1: If they don't want to be your friend, you don't
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Speaker 1: need them. If they don't value you, make you feel
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Speaker 1: like you have something to offer, they're not for you.
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Speaker 1: You have to move on. Quit trying to talk people
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Speaker 1: into staying that don't want to stay. Let them walk.
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Speaker 1: Jesus told His disciples, when you go into a city,
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Speaker 1: if they don't accept the message of the good news,
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Speaker 1: they're not for you, and they don't want you to
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Speaker 1: be there. He didn't say, man, you've got to work harder.
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Speaker 1: Spend more time. Try to convince them. No, He said,
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Speaker 1: shake the dust off your feet and go on to
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Speaker 1: the next city. He was saying, don't waste your time
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Speaker 1: trying to win people over that are not a part
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Speaker 1: of your destiny. Someone doesn't want to be with you.
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Speaker 1: They don't like you. They don't validate you. Shake the
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Speaker 1: dust off and move on. Accept that they're not a
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Speaker 1: part of your story. If they can walk away, you
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Speaker 1: have to let them walk. If you try to convince them,
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Speaker 1: it's going to be a constant source of frustration. And yes,
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Speaker 1: God can change their minds If they're supposed to be there,
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Speaker 1: He'll turn things around. But you're not supposed to live
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Speaker 1: trying to talk people into liking you, being your friend,
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Speaker 1: hoping they call. God created you in His own image.
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Speaker 1: You have royal blood flowing through your veins. He's already
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Speaker 1: lined up people that recognize your value, people that love
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Speaker 1: being with you. Hey, I'm so glad you're watching today.
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Speaker 1: I hope this message is speaking to your heart. If
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Speaker 1: you want to stay encouraged every day, I'd love to
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Speaker 1: send you a short daily devotional, just a few minutes
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Speaker 1: each morning to help you start your day in faith,
9:58
Speaker 1: in peace, and in strength. You can sign up by
10:01
Speaker 1: scanning the QR code or using the link below. It's
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Speaker 1: completely free, just a simple way to keep you moving
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Speaker 1: forward each day. We love you, and we're praying for you.
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Speaker 1: There's a lady in the scripture named Naomi who Her
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Speaker 1: husband passed away and she became a widow at a
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Speaker 1: young age. Ten years later, both of her grown sons
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Speaker 1: were killed. She was so heartbroken, she decided to move
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Speaker 1: back to her hometown of Bethlehem. She told her two daughters-in-law,
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Speaker 1: Ruth and Orpah, that they should move back to their
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Speaker 1: homes as well and go on with their lives. The
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Speaker 1: three of them packed up their belongings and headed out
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Speaker 1: on the road toward Judah. They came to an intersection
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Speaker 1: and stopped. Naomi said, this is where we part ways.
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Speaker 1: You both go that way and I'm gonna go on
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Speaker 1: to Bethlehem. The scripture says Orpah kissed Naomi goodbye and
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Speaker 1: headed down the road. Orpah was a good person. She
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Speaker 1: loved Naomi, but now she was leaving. Naomi could have
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Speaker 1: been upset. Thought, man, after all I did for her,
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Speaker 1: she's leaving me in my darkest time when I need
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Speaker 1: her the most. No, Naomi understood that This was a
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Speaker 1: new season, that things had changed, that it was okay
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Speaker 1: for her to walk away. She was at peace with
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Speaker 1: who left. She accepted Orpah not being a part of
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Speaker 1: her life in the same way, without being critical and
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Speaker 1: bitter toward her. We like to hold on to people
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Speaker 1: and stay here, meet my needs, keep it the same.
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Speaker 1: It's a mark of maturity to let people walk away.
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Speaker 1: It takes trust. You're saying, God, I know you're my doorkeeper.
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Speaker 1: You're opening and closing the doors of relationships in my life.
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Speaker 1: The other daughter-in-law, Ruth, was just the opposite. Naomi tried
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Speaker 1: to get her to leave. She said, Ruth, there's no
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Speaker 1: future going with me. Nothing in Bethlehem for you. You
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Speaker 1: deserve more for your life. She gave her best speech,
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Speaker 1: every opportunity to leave with no guilt. But Ruth said
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Speaker 1: in verse 16, Naomi, I can't leave. I will go
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Speaker 1: wherever you go. Live wherever you live. Your people will
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Speaker 1: be my people. Your God will be my God. May
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Speaker 1: the Lord punish me if I allow anything to separate us.
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Speaker 1: How could one daughter-in-law leave so easily? The other want
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Speaker 1: to stay. They both love their mother-in-law. But Ruth sensed
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Speaker 1: that her destiny was tied to Naomi. She felt this
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Speaker 1: connection that was stronger than her own family. She watched
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Speaker 1: her sister-in-law, Orpah, walk away, but something in her said,
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Speaker 1: you have to stay. In life, you'll have a lot
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Speaker 1: of Orpas, people that leave. They're good people, but the
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Speaker 1: season is over. Things change. They're busy, distracted. You have
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Speaker 1: to let them go. Be at peace with who left.
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Speaker 1: Don't fault them. Don't get critical. God is closing the door.
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Speaker 1: They're in Orpah. They were instrumental in your life for
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Speaker 1: a season. They were necessary, but now their part in
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Speaker 1: your story is over. The good news is God will
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Speaker 1: always give you a Ruth, someone you can't get rid of.
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Speaker 1: They stick with you through thick and thin. They know
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Speaker 1: their destiny is tied to you. But sometimes we try
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Speaker 1: to convince the Orpas to stay, spending time and energy,
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Speaker 1: got to manipulate, perform. Orpa loved Naomi, but she left.
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Speaker 1: People can love you and leave. If they walk away,
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Speaker 1: they're not a bad person. God shut the door. That
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Speaker 1: season ended. But when it's a Ruth, there's nothing you
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Speaker 1: can do to convince them to go. When you understand this,
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Speaker 1: it takes the pressure off. You're not frustrated over who left,
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Speaker 1: bitter over that person that ghosted you, striving to get
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Speaker 1: that coworker to accept you. That's laboring in vain. Let
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Speaker 1: God bring your relationships. Trust Him with your open and
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Speaker 1: closed doors. If someone leaves, do like Naomi, kiss them goodbye.
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Speaker 1: Not bitter, angry, man, they never call me back. Why
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Speaker 1: won't they invite me to their group? You're not supposed
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Speaker 1: to be there. You can't open a door that God
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Speaker 1: has closed and you can't close a door that God
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Speaker 1: has opened. They can't leave when God has purposed it.
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Speaker 1: If they walked away, they were supposed to go. If
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Speaker 1: they didn't stay, you didn't need them. Kiss them goodbye
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Speaker 1: and move on. The mistake we make sometimes is instead
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Speaker 1: of kissing them goodbye, we kick them goodbye. Good riddance.
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Speaker 1: Get out of here. I didn't like you anyway. Talk bad, critical,
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Speaker 1: live offended. They may have done you wrong, betrayed you,
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Speaker 1: left you out. God is your vindicator. He'll take care
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Speaker 1: of who hurts you. But if you let that bitterness
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Speaker 1: get on the inside, it's going to poison your next relationship.
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Speaker 1: You have to be at peace with who left. You
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Speaker 1: have to accept who walked away as a part of
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Speaker 1: God's plans. Yes, it was painful. It wasn't fair, but
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Speaker 1: God wouldn't have allowed it if it wasn't moving you
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Speaker 1: towards your destiny. And sometimes He closes doors we don't understand.
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Speaker 1: He takes the orpas out of our life, people we
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Speaker 1: were counting on, friends we were used to, but He
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Speaker 1: always has a Ruth. He always has the right people,
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Speaker 1: destiny connections. The late 1950s, My father was pastoring a
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Speaker 1: successful church and had just built a beautiful new sanctuary.
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Speaker 1: The future looked so bright. My sister Lisa was born
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Speaker 1: with something like cerebral palsy. The doctors told my parents
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Speaker 1: that she'd probably never be able to walk or feed herself.
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Speaker 1: My father went away for a few days to read
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Speaker 1: the scripture like he had never read it before. He
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Speaker 1: saw how Jesus went around healing people, doing miracles, and
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Speaker 1: how when you believe, all things are possible. He was
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Speaker 1: taught in seminary back then that miracles only happen in
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Speaker 1: Bible days. He came back to his church with a
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Speaker 1: new fire, and he shared this message of faith and victory.
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Speaker 1: He thought everyone would be excited, but it was just
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Speaker 1: the opposite. It didn't fit into their traditions. Things got
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Speaker 1: so contentious and so divisive that my parents were forced
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Speaker 1: out of the church. They had to resign. My mother
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Speaker 1: was 26 years old. She had lifelong friends that never
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Speaker 1: spoke to her again. People she had known for years,
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Speaker 1: gone to school with, raised children with, done life together.
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Speaker 1: Now they walked away. Wouldn't have anything to do with her.
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Speaker 1: Mother is about to be 91 years old. I have
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Speaker 1: never heard her say one negative thing about those people.
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Speaker 1: Never heard her complain about them, belittle them. Sure, it
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Speaker 1: was hurtful. She felt the sting of rejection, being misunderstood.
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Speaker 1: Some of them talked about her and my father. She
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Speaker 1: could have tried to defend herself, convince them to change
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Speaker 1: their mind, keep them on her side. She understood this principle.
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Speaker 1: If people can walk away, you have to let them walk.
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Speaker 1: If they leave you, accept it as a part of
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Speaker 1: your destiny. Don't spend your life trying to change people's
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Speaker 1: minds and win them over, convince them to approve you.
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Speaker 1: Like Naomi, you have to kiss them goodbye. Not bitter.
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Speaker 1: I'll show you. I'm going to make you look bad.
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Speaker 1: Leave it in God's hands. When you're at peace with
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Speaker 1: who walked away, you're passing the test. That's when you'll
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Speaker 1: see the new things God is doing. My parents went
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Speaker 1: out and started Lakewood, Mother's Day 1959, with 90 people.
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Speaker 1: The critics said it would never last, but here we
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Speaker 1: are today, 65 years later, and still going strong. The
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Speaker 1: fact is, my parents couldn't have fulfilled their destiny at
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Speaker 1: that church. It was a limited environment. Orpah had to
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Speaker 1: walk away. Those people had to misunderstand my parents. They
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Speaker 1: had to reject them. It was painful, but it was
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Speaker 1: God closing the door. You're not always going to understand
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Speaker 1: what God is doing and why this person treated you
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Speaker 1: this way. You've been good to them, but they left
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Speaker 1: you out, said things that weren't true. Leave it in
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Speaker 1: God's hands. Don't spend all your energy trying to convince
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Speaker 1: people to stay. They don't want to stay. Some people,
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Speaker 1: no matter what you do, how hard you try and
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Speaker 1: how good you are to them, they're gonna find fault, misunderstand,
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Speaker 1: wanna leave. Best thing you can do is let them go.
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Speaker 1: There's something called the gift of goodbye. We see it
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Speaker 1: as a disappointment. Really, they're doing you a favor. They
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Speaker 1: had to leave so you can see the greater things,
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Speaker 1: the levels you couldn't reach with those same people. It
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Speaker 1: doesn't mean they're bad, it's just a new season. God
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Speaker 1: is doing a new thing, so Orpah has to go,
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Speaker 1: but Ruth will always be there. God is controlling the
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Speaker 1: doors in your life, who comes in and out of relationships.
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Speaker 1: If Ruth had walked away, said like Orpah, I'm out
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Speaker 1: of here. I'm going to greener pastures. I'm not staying
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Speaker 1: with this old woman. If she had not stuck with Naomi,
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Speaker 1: she would have never married Boaz and become the great
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Speaker 1: grandmother of King David. Now we understand why she said,
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Speaker 1: I cannot leave. Not maybe I'll come with you, Naomi.
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Speaker 1: Maybe I'll go home for a few months and then
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Speaker 1: come back and see you. The people God has ordained
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Speaker 1: for you cannot walk away. Listen to Ruth's language. May
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Speaker 1: the Lord punish me if I allow anything to separate us.
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Speaker 1: God will put such a strong desire in those who
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Speaker 1: are supposed to stay that they can't leave. Now quit
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Speaker 1: worrying about the orpahs. Man, why didn't they stay? Or
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Speaker 1: thinking you have to work harder, perform better, convince them
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Speaker 1: to not leave. That's not your job. Take the pressure off.
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Speaker 1: You have a doorkeeper, a God who opens and closes doors,
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Speaker 1: a God who moves people out on purpose, and a
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Speaker 1: God who causes people to not be able to walk away.
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Speaker 1: Your part, my part, is to honor God and Treat
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Speaker 1: people with respect, be kind, be loving, but you don't
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Speaker 1: have to beg people to stay. You don't have to
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Speaker 1: play up to that friend, hoping they'll give you the
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Speaker 1: time of day. Let that coworker manipulate, talk down, belittle.
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Speaker 1: If not, they won't accept you. You don't need them.
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Speaker 1: The sooner you let them walk away, the better off
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Speaker 1: you're going to be. And I'm not saying to be
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Speaker 1: mean and rude and treat them the same way. I'm
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Speaker 1: just saying, quit depending on them for your value. Thinking
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Speaker 1: you have to have them to reach your destiny. You
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Speaker 1: don't need them to feel good about who you are.
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Speaker 1: Let them walk away and God will bring people into
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Speaker 1: your life that see you as a masterpiece. People that
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Speaker 1: celebrate who you are, that love spending time with you.
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Speaker 1: And I know when someone leaves, it's hard. to be
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Speaker 1: looked down on, betrayed, rejected. But what if you knew,
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Speaker 1: like my parents, that it had to happen so you
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Speaker 1: could see your Lakewood? What if you knew God closing
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Speaker 1: the door was to take you to greater levels? It
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Speaker 1: was a disappointment, but in fact, them walking away is
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Speaker 1: a present. They gave you the gift of goodbye. It's
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Speaker 1: very freeing when you realize God is your doorkeeper, He's
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Speaker 1: going to have the right people for each season of
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Speaker 1: your life. May not be who it's always been. I
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Speaker 1: don't mean your spouse, your children, they're with you. I'm
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Speaker 1: talking about friends, coworkers, people you grew up with. Yes,
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Speaker 1: some are long-term, but some may walk away. You have
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Speaker 1: to be at peace with who leaves. Some people, they've
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Speaker 1: been playing up to people for years, letting them control them, manipulate,
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Speaker 1: live under so much pressure. All because they're afraid if
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Speaker 1: they don't perform, this person may leave, may not call,
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Speaker 1: may not approve. This can save you a lot of heartache.
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Speaker 1: Let them walk. They don't want to be your friend.
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Speaker 1: It's their loss, not yours. If they don't call, shake
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Speaker 1: the dust off and move on. If they ghost you,
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Speaker 1: take it as the Holy Ghost shutting that door, keeping
23:15
Speaker 1: you from that jerk, I mean that person. A few
23:18
Speaker 1: years after my father passed, the church was really growing
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Speaker 1: and we needed a larger auditorium. My father always said
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Speaker 1: that he would never move the church. I was young.
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Speaker 1: I didn't want to rock the boat. But when we
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Speaker 1: got word that the compact center became available, I knew
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Speaker 1: it was supposed to be ours. I didn't announce it,
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Speaker 1: but it came out in the news. 99% of the
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Speaker 1: congregation was completely for it. Everyone's so excited. But there
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Speaker 1: was this one man He would find me after every service. Joel,
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Speaker 1: you know, your dad said he wouldn't move the church.
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Speaker 1: It's not right to go to that other location. And
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Speaker 1: if you go, I'm not going to come. Well, my
24:01
Speaker 1: personality is to want everybody to be forward. I said, well, man,
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Speaker 1: let's just pray. Let's just wait. Let's just see what happens.
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Speaker 1: Hoping to change his mind, convince him to get on board.
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Speaker 1: But after about the 40th time, of him telling me
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Speaker 1: it wasn't right, he wasn't going to come, something shifted
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Speaker 1: in my spirit. I didn't say it, but I thought
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Speaker 1: to myself, I hope you don't come. In fact, you're
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Speaker 1: not even invited. A stronghold was broken in my mind,
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Speaker 1: thinking that if he leaves, the world's going to fall apart.
24:37
Speaker 1: You can't accomplish your dreams worried about who's going to
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Speaker 1: walk away. Who's going to accept you? And I got
24:42
Speaker 1: to perform, play up to them, make them like me.
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Speaker 1: That's no way to live. Some people can't go where
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Speaker 1: God has taken you. They're good people. They're great for
24:53
Speaker 1: a season, but God has ordained you to go higher.
24:56
Speaker 1: It's going to take greater commitment, greater faith, greater consecration.
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Speaker 1: So he'll remove certain people that would limit you so
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Speaker 1: you can fulfill your purpose. John chapter 6, Jesus was
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Speaker 1: teaching His disciples about commitment, what it meant to be
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Speaker 1: a follower of Christ. Some of them didn't understand. Verse
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Speaker 1: 66 says, at that point, many of His disciples turned
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Speaker 1: away and deserted Him. Here Jesus had given His life
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Speaker 1: for them. They'd seen Him do great miracles, traveled with Him,
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Speaker 1: eaten together, laughed together, but they walked away. Jesus looked
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Speaker 1: at the 12 disciples and said, are you going to
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Speaker 1: leave too? Peter said, Jesus, where would we go? You
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Speaker 1: have eternal life. We believe you're the son of God.
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Speaker 1: He couldn't get rid of the 12. What's interesting is
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Speaker 1: you never read where Jesus went chasing after the many
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Speaker 1: disciples that left that day. He chased after that one
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Speaker 1: lost sheep that got off course. but he didn't go
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Speaker 1: chasing after people that didn't want to stay. Your destiny
26:06
Speaker 1: is not tied to those that left you. God doesn't
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Speaker 1: need anything you lost to bless you. Those that walked away,
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Speaker 1: didn't understand, that betrayed, they didn't stop what God has
26:20
Speaker 1: for you. Let it go. Quit dwelling on it. reliving
26:25
Speaker 1: the hurt, hoping that you can pay them back or
26:27
Speaker 1: trying to change their mind, God closed that door. I'm
26:32
Speaker 1: asking you to be at peace with those who have
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Speaker 1: walked away. Quit trying to hold on to people that
26:37
Speaker 1: don't want to be there. You're not supposed to chase
26:40
Speaker 1: people to love you and accept you and believe in you.
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Speaker 1: You don't need them. This takes the pressure off. No
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Speaker 1: more striving, straining, trying to convince people to be for you.
26:52
Speaker 1: That's laboring in vain. Trust God to be your doorkeeper.
26:57
Speaker 1: Trust Him with your relationships. If you'll do this, I
27:01
Speaker 1: believe and declare God will bring you divine connections. the
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Speaker 1: right people for every season. Orpah may have left, but
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Speaker 1: God has some roots coming for you, people that cannot leave.
27:14
Speaker 1: In Jesus' name. And if you receive it, can you
27:17
Speaker 1: say amen? I'd like to give you an opportunity to
27:21
Speaker 1: make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray
27:24
Speaker 1: with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins.
27:29
Speaker 1: Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior.
27:34
Speaker 1: If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got
27:37
Speaker 1: born again. We'd love to send you some free information
27:40
Speaker 1: on your new walk with the Lord. You can text
27:42
Speaker 1: the number on the screen or go to the website.
27:46
Speaker 1: But I hope you'll get into a good Bible-based church
27:49
Speaker 1: and keep God first place. I hope the message encouraged
27:53
Speaker 1: you today. Such a joy to be with you. It's
27:56
Speaker 1: one thing to be inspired in a moment, but it's
27:59
Speaker 1: another to stay strong in your faith every day. That's
28:02
Speaker 1: why each month we create a special resource to help
28:05
Speaker 1: you stay encouraged, focused, and moving forward. You can request
28:10
Speaker 1: this resource by scanning the QR code or using the
28:13
Speaker 1: link below. We love you guys. We're praying for you.
28:16
Speaker 1: It's going to be a blessed year. Your best days
28:19
Speaker 1: are still up in front of you.