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Welcome to Call to Freedom with Barbara Carmack. This is Jimmy Lakey and I’m delighted that you are joining us for this half hour. You can reach Call to Freedom at box 370367 Denver, Colorado 80237 or by going to the website at www.freedomstreet.org. If you want to leave a message or order a word-powered daily reading Bible guide or a Freedom Street Express newsletter, you can call us toll-free at 1-877-917-7256 and leave your name and address including your zip code. If you want to talk to Barbara right now, she is expecting your call. You may call that same toll-free number 1-877-917-7256 to speak to her. And now let’s join Barbara in the studio. Welcome to Call to Freedom. May you be blessed in all you do today, confident that the spirit of God leads you with wisdom and with love. Oh, it’s so important that you realize that God is there all the time with you. He hears and answers your prayers. He does today. And I’m so grateful that he is a God, a loving God, a wise God, a good God. And I say that so many times during the day, “Oh, God, you are a good God. You are blessed to dispense for in Him you live and move and have your being. And I’m so glad that I have the opportunity to talk to you every day, Monday through Thursday. And then Friday is our encore show. And so many of you remark about Darren’s anointing on the show and the answers to the phone calls we get. So I’m glad that we have that opportunity to do that also. And I welcome you to the program Kimberly DuWell from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Thank you. So good to be with you again. You were telling me that you have been reviewing Matthew 24 lately. And so I was doing the same thing just getting into that chapter because there’s so much happening in the world right now that looks like the signs of the end times. And that gets me really excited. Now I think there was a time in my life where I wasn’t excited about it. I think I was more fearful just because it can sound kind of scary. But I wanted to touch on some of these verses today and just show how exciting it really is. We don’t have to be distracted by what people tell us when they’re seeing signs and they think this is, oh boy, this is it. This is what was prophesied will happen. And we can look to the Word of God and look to the way that Jesus is our peace. He’s our comfort. He’s our joy. And just take a deep breath and rest in him. As he says, come to me, all you who are worried, who are weary, who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. We can trust him. We can trust him with that. So that’s what we want to do today. Just take a deep breath and rest in his example of love and kindness and realize that really we’re just in a classroom here on earth. This classroom is teaching us how to be kind to one another and solve the equation of what it means to really love one another. So looking at Matthew 24, if we see verse 27 here, the appearing of the Son of Man will burst forth with the brightness of a lightning strike that shines from one end to the sky to the other. I think there are some movies that have tried to portray that, you know, what that would look like literally. I’ve seen a few of those myself, some of the shots that people take. And I’ve tried to imagine that literally. But if I’m reading this and looking at it kind of as a hyperbole and just a picture, my aha moments that I have in life feel very much like a light bulb just came on. And I think we can think of it that way. When we start to understand what real kindness is and true love is, we can just go, oh, light bulb comes on. You know, it might even feel like a lightning strike, you know, just, oh, wait, wow. So in the sky of our thoughts, in the sky of our mind, a light just all of a sudden flashes on. And we know. We know instinctively. It says that in verse 28. And this is following the whole lightning strike idea of the lightning strike that comes from one end to the sky to the other illuminating the earth in Matthew 24. And it says, how do birds of prey know where the dead body is? Isn’t that funny? What a funny question to just throw in there. Jesus would say that. And he’s the creator of the vultures, the birds, the eagles. Yeah. He has the whole universe to take from, yes, in his speech. Yes. Yes. And he’s really just wanting us to know they know instinctively. So we will know when it’s Jesus, when it’s his kindness, when it’s his love that is being shown to us or shown to others. Last night, Matthew and I went out to eat and this is a family-owned restaurant. And they love to have people from the streets come in and help to serve and help to bust the tables and clean up and help them in the kitchen, help with cleanup. And then they feed them. And that’s their pay. They feed them their restaurant. And it is really good food. So it’s very worth. You say this is kind of like a Mediterranean or what you got used to in Israel while you were there. Oh, so good. And they use all organic meats and foods there. So it’s a wonderful place. So one of the people that was waiting on us last night, Matthew and I both noticed he seemed more perturbed with us than happy to wait on us. And when you are asking people from the street to come in and help you, you don’t know what they’ve been through. We just can’t know what their life has been like and how hard it’s been. And it’s true, really, of everyone. I think I know my kids, but I don’t really know what their deepest inner struggles are. Only the Lord knows. So just showing kindness and being loving, we just ended up giving him a tip and he had not been that kind to us. And I think he knew that. But the only reason I say that is because our tip then made him tear up and then he was asking, do you come here very often? I don’t think I’ve seen you before. And he just started talking and talking and was very friendly to us then. You know, it’s worth it to go ahead and give a little extra, even if that means you might go without, but giving a little extra of your time, of your resources, of your money in order to encourage another soul so that they can come away with joy and know that their love, money can be a way that people feel very cared for. Absolutely. Yes. And their whole demeanor changes. I’ve seen that with people. But this story that you’re giving is just truly, you went to have a meal. You were hungry for a Middle Eastern meal and you went there to fill your tummies and listen, listen folks, listen to Kimberly’s experience. Oh, it’s great. Oh, yeah. And we actually don’t know the faith of the people that work there, there from the Middle East. We haven’t gotten to know them really well. They don’t speak English. It’s not their first language. They do speak some English, but it’s not their first language. So we haven’t gotten to know them really well, like verbally, to know who they are, where they’re from, what their faith might be. But we do know them in their generosity and they know us. We’ve tipped the restaurant. Well, the owners, we’ve done that just to say thank you because your food is amazing. And last night when Matthew and I were sitting at the table talking about how difficult the day had been and it was just an unusually complicated day. And so it was taxing for our brains, taxing for our bodies. And to sit down at this restaurant and put a bite of that food in our mouths for a moment it just felt like having a little piece of heaven in our mouth. And we were able to share that with the owner. He was just beaming. You know, and it looked like he had tears and he just said, oh, I thank you for sharing that with me. So even though the English is broken, he understood what we were thanking him for. And he felt encouraged with that, that note of thanks. So having a thankful heart and letting other people know, that’s one of the ways that we can show love and kindness to others. You read something and I won’t read the whole thing, but I think you read it on the air earlier this week and it says, maybe we need to quit grading each other so harshly. Maybe the only homework assignment we have been given on this earth is solving the equation of kindness. And maybe empathy is just a study abroad program where we spend time in the hearts of strangers. You know, so here we are in this restaurant and they do kind of feel like strangers. They’re from another place in the world yet in those moments of sharing a tip, you know, a monetary tip or sharing a note of gratitude and just how good this food made us feel after a really hard day. Sharing that way, well then he started coming to the table with more and more like we didn’t order it, but he was just thanking us for our presence. And for our compliments and it was really good too. Everything he brought to the table was wonderful and we felt so pampered, but I think he did too. So we were both solving that equation of kindness, you know, and letting it increase and be multiplied between us. And we were not deterred by the person who maybe didn’t know exactly how to wait on us with kindness, but in the end he did, you know, that was a wonderful time. In verse 48 through 51 of Matthew 24, it’s talking about a servant that says in his heart and it deems him the evil servant who says in his heart, “My master delays his coming and who knows when he will return.” Because of the delay, he abuses the other servants and gives himself over to just eating and drinking, pleasing himself. He becomes really selfish. Yes. The last let me tell you what will happen to him. It says, did you want to comment on that? The last two days I have been in Isaiah 22 and this evil slave, this mean slave, reminds me of Shedna who was a steward in the House of King Hezekiah. And he was prideful. He was puffed up. He wanted to tell everybody that he was above them. You know, he treated them with condensation, condensation. And then the other steward that King Hezekiah then appointed by God was, I can’t even think of it right now. I want to say, “Obediah,” and it’s not. Kaya. Eliacum. Excuse me. Thank you, Kimberly. Eliacum. And Eliacum was appointed to have the keys of David and the master key on his shoulder. That’s what this whole thing in Matthew reminds me of. The evil steward and the steward that was taking on the responsibility of being faithful and steadfast. So continue, Kimberly. Yeah, well, and really the evil is hanging on to selfishness. You’re just wanting your own promotion, wanting your own time to yourself, wanting, and it’s all self-focused. Yes. But it says, “Let me tell you what will happen to him.” His master will return suddenly at a time that surprises him. And he will remove the abusive selfish servant from his position of trust. He’s no longer trustworthy, you know, to be in that place. And the master, this, now this part sounds really brutal. But I want to look at this. The master will cut him into and assign him to the place of great sorrow and anguish, along with all the other pretenders and unbelievers. And I think sometimes we pretend to be kind, but people can see through that. That’s right. We pretend that we are doing the work of the Lord. Evangelism, so many Christians think, “Okay, well, that means that I need to go and make disciples. So let me tell everybody what they’re doing wrong.” People can see right through that, and especially our master. He can see right through that. And when it says that he will cut him into the Greek word there is “Dykotomeo.” And it means it could also mean that God will separate him from himself. So if we look at Hebrews 4, verse 12, it says, “The word of God is alive and active. It’s sharper than a two-edged sword, and it’s able to separate soul and spirit from bone and marrow.” Yes. It’s separate out, the things in us that don’t belong there, in our soul and our spirit. It separates it right out of this body so that we are no longer behaving that way, behaving selfishly. And I love that. I love that the master will come and make sure that he takes out those things in us that are not kind, that are not loving, that are not beautiful or peaceful. And he knows exactly how to do that. I was with my friends at Panera, and that morning that we were there for our little time of tea and sharing. The worker that was at the cash register again was someone… And I don’t know if you’ve noticed this trend. I love it. There are more and more places that are hiring those that might have some mental challenges. And maybe on the spectrum a little bit. I love that because there are more and more people being found on the spectrum. So I love that they’re just being folded right into society, and I want that personally. I want to see more and more people included. I’m an inclusive person, not an exclusive. So I want to see the inclusion of all kinds of people. And this particular one, my friend is used to having a number given to her. So she could take her number to her table and the food will get to her. So she asked for her number and he shook his head no. She said, “Well, I think I need a number for my table.” And he said, “You’ll be fine.” So she walks away, but it really, it really brought my friends. So she went to the kitchen and the person that was standing there that brings the food and mentioned to them, “Well, I didn’t get a number, so I don’t know if you will know where my food comes.” I don’t know. Maybe this worker wanted to have like an extra game of hide and seek where you have to find the person that the food goes with or that matching game. You know where you have to draw a line from one thing. Or where does this food match up with? Or maybe God is teaching your friend and all of us, Kimberly, that the things that I am used to doing, the tradition that I have been a part of all these years is changing. You know, they’re different than what you have learned to do. So now you’ve got to be flexible and vulnerable to the new changes. And we’re not prone for that. We are not. I am one. I am. So what we want, like the lightning flashing across the sky in that aha moment. Oh, I can react to this the old way in my routine and demand that my routine be observed here. It’s correct. We could just do it different. We can just do it differently. It’s right. It will be fun, right? Yeah, get used to different. Isn’t it from the chosen get used to different? Yes. Matthew and I, we have those t-shirts that say get used to different. And we both just kind of look at our marriage that way. Get used to different. If you have any questions about our marriage and the way that we’re doing it, just get used to different. Yeah, yours is the most unusual marriage I’ve ever known about. But it really is wonderful to be able to pray for your children in a way that is different and unorthodox. Right. And beautiful. And so many times we look at one thing as, okay, if I maintain my marriage, I raise my children. But it is going to be a wonderful thing. No, God doesn’t see our lives as that way. It’s like a lady I just talked to on the phone today. Well, I never had children. I said, well, that’s fine because a lot of the authors in the Bible never got married and never had children. Paul. I told her about Paul writing two thirds of the New Testament. He was never married and he never had children. And look at the influence that man has on this earth. Right. Yeah. So we got to get used to different. We really do. Yes. And thank God that we are different. Yeah. Right. And just like my marriage being different and relationships, you know, that maybe we had a certain expectation for when it’s different, just like Panera doing something a little different to get your food to your table. Is it really a reason to be upset? Yeah. Now did she, she did get her food? Did she? Yes. Oh, yes. Did the guy who told me not a problem. Oh, okay. It wasn’t a problem. Okay. And honestly, we need to look at life that way. So the things that we think are so big and I’m going to go back now to Matthew 24 and I was just reading about the servant in 48, 49, 50. But let me go to verse 29. Okay. So I’m going backward, jumping around a little bit in Matthew 24. It says, “Immediately, this is what will take place. The sun will be darkened and the moon give no light. The stars will fall from the sky and all the cosmic powers will be shaken.” Yes. Now this is after the tribulation. So those of us who believe in the rapture, that is going to occur before all of this happens. So that’s when you’re thinking of it literally and I’m not trying to take away from the literal. No, I know you’re metaphoric. Yes. Go for it. Yes. Go for it. So it’s a blessing to me to read this that the sun will be darkened and the moon give no light. In comparison to what to the verses before, the appearing of Jesus when he bursts forth with that lightning brightness. In your ah-ha moment, when you become so aware of Jesus in your life and his ways of love and kindness and mercy and forgiveness, when you understand how good he is, then the things that are biggest in your life, the things that are biggest and brightest, the sun and the moon. And Joseph, in the Old Testament, Joseph had dreams. The sun and the moon stood for his father and his mother. So the sun and the moon could be people. They could be careers. They could be things that you own, possessions that you have. So the sun and the moon might be really big things in your life, like your big anchors in your life. Yes. So it’s a blessing to come darkened when the appearing of Jesus comes to you. When you really know who Jesus is, his love, his mercy, his kindness, then the other things just appear kind of dark. You don’t even really need them anymore. I know this. I know this for a fact. You know, it used to be so important to me to have such a healthy marriage and that we do everything together. We go on vacation. We just don’t go on vacation together. We haven’t done that in 30 years. I don’t think I had a honeymoon even. So no, I didn’t. So that’s not one of those things that I see as a need. Even though for years I did, it was a big sun in my life. It was a big bright shining. Okay, this is something to look forward to. A vacation together. Or someday we’ll make up the difference and have that honeymoon. You know, it might have been a big bright light, but now that doesn’t even matter in the light of the love of Jesus and the kindness and the forgiveness and the mercy and the way that He is giving us aha moments of Himself. Yes. Those things that were so… Everything else becomes dark. That’s right. All those things that were so important for us are they important when you put them against the coming of our Lord Jesus and eternity. And then that’s when they melt away. It says even the stars will fall from the sky and all the cosmic powers will be shaken. Who is a star to you? You know, who is it in your life that might need to fall from the sky? And we think it’s so awful when people let us down. It does hurt. It is disappointing. But it doesn’t have to make us depressed because when we get to the end of people, the end of humanity. The end of our rope, what’s left? God. That’s right. God. Yes. Yes. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. You know, we get to the end of our rope so that there’s less of us and more of Him. That’s what we want. Oh, yes. So I was thinking about a friend of mine that I sat with who she is struggling how others have told her she needs to have this Bible study. She needs to be praying more. She needs those to me. Oh, you should be leading your time with your friends this way. You should pray this way. And just how should he thinking, I’ve called it, should he think? Should he? That’s a good thing. It should be thinking is very harsh. And it really doesn’t do us any good to have that shouldy thinking. So Rachel and I are giving us signals here from the production room to the studio. I hope it edits well. I hope it comes across well in the air. Wow. Because I’m saying that the way we should be thinking when we put that on other people is harmful. So when we hear from others what we should be doing or should not be doing, it’s not very encouraging. In fact, it’s actually discouraging. And when we look at what the Bible has to say, it’s not a whole bunch, it’s not a bunch of shoulds. It’s not shouldy thinking. It’s just leading us to relationship. It’s leading us to love. That’s right. Yeah. And how to forgive. Mm-hmm. Yes. So even in our discipling of others trying to let go of what we think we should tell them or how we should disciple. Let go of that and just love. Let love be the main instruction. Let mercy and forgiveness flow from us. Let compassion and generosity be what goes before us. And then grace and mercy follow behind us. That will be left behind. And people will be so covered in grace and covered in mercy. People will remember who we were in their presence and be drawn closer to Jesus because of how grace and mercy follow us all the days of our life. Yes. And that’s it, Kimberly, that we present such a wonderful loving image that people want to follow after our Lord Jesus. That’s it. Yes. You’ve got so much more to talk about on that miracle with Matthew, your husband. I’m going to ask you to come on again tomorrow. Can you do that? Okay. Okay. I will look forward to giving more testimonies and being with you tomorrow. Thank you for that invitation. God bless you. This has been great. Thank you so much from Matthew 24. And God bless all of you. And the last thing here is take joy. Thank you for listening to Call to Freedom with Barbara Carmack. You may get in touch with Barbara at Call to Freedom. Box 370-367 Denver, Colorado 80237. Or you may leave your message at 1-877-917-7256. Call to Freedom is a listener supported radio ministry. Barbara and her power partners invite you to come on board with us and become a network of hands holding up Call to Freedom Ministry. Power partner support call to Freedom with Prayer and Monthly Financial Support. You will be blessed supernaturally. We invite you to visit Call to Freedom’s website, www.freedomstreet.org, where you can hear Barbara’s daily radio broadcast 24 hours a day or order materials. You may share your phrase reports and heart cries by mailing them to Call to Freedom. Box 370-367 Denver, Colorado 80237. Or you may email us at Barbara Carmack at FreedomStreet.org. Until next time, remember Jesus loves you, Barbara loves you, and take joy. Thank you. (soft music)
