[Music] Welcome to Call to Freedom with Barbar Carmac. 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 370-367 Denver, Colorado 802-37 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. I hope you're enjoying your day or you're getting ready to go to bed and I hope that you have sweet sleep tonight in Jesus' name. As I came into the studio and I saw on my desk this, I have a calendar, a scripture calendar on the desk here in the studio and I'm glad nobody's ever taken it. Oh, and I saw he guides me in passive righteousness for his name's sake. And that's just a little portion of the chapter that most of us know. So why don't we try to go through the whole chapter, Psalm 23. Oh, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pasture. See, some of you are so busy. He makes you, he forces you to lie down in green pastures. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Ye, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Oh, for thou art with me thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runth over. You know, David had been anointed by Samuel. So he knew that anointing from the top of his head and all the oil coming down over his shoulders. Oh, thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Oh, thank you, Lord, for David. Thank you for all the wonderful Psalms that sometimes we take for granted. We look them over and we say, "Oh, that's a good one." And we don't really take it in. So thank you that today, Lord, our people that are listening are taking in your wonderful word in Jesus' name. Oh, let's do the Monday Bible slogan. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I do what it tells me to do. This is my Bible. It has given me new life. It is the Word of God. Praise the Lord. And as your assignment is to know Jesus and to let people know Jesus, we're going to go through, "Oh, I didn't go through you are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed to dispense for in him you live and move and have your being." I say that every day. I should be saying that all the time on the radio also. You are blessed to dispense for in him you live and move and have your being. That's from that last part in him you live and move and have your being is in Acts 17 verse 28. Acts 17 verse 28. Praise God for Paul. Praise God for David. Praise God for Paul. We're going to read some portion of scripture from Isaiah. And we're going to also read portions of scripture from 1 Peter. So thank you, Lord, for all these wonderful men, these prophets that wrote the Word of God, that we can enjoy every day of our lives. Oh, and so I was telling you that your assignment here is to know Jesus and let people know him. That's what your assignment is. And when Kimberly gave me this passage of this monologue from John Rodel, it was so good I'm going to read it again because maybe some of you missed last week altogether. And so I'm going to give it to you again. And this is part of the assignment, part of the reason that you are here. Maybe we are here to teach each other how to love. Yeah, that's what I've learned. I've learned from other people how to love. Yes, and from Holy Spirit and Father God, of course. But maybe we are here to teach each other how to love. Maybe Earth is a classroom and we take turns being students and professors. Maybe we need to quit grading each other so harshly. Yes, maybe the only homework assignment we have been given is solving the equation of kindness. Maybe empathy is just a study abroad program where we spend time in the hearts of strangers. Maybe forgiveness is the final exam. Maybe we are never meant to graduate. Maybe we remain forever students of how to love and care for each other. Isn't that beautiful? John Rodel, and his last name is spelled R-O-E-D-E-L. Rodel. This week we're going to concentrate on Israel in our prayers. I know an election is coming up on November the 5th and I hope you've done your patriotic duty and registered to vote. But this week has just really been a firestorm in Israel. And the rockets are being lobbed continually now from Lebanon. In the word of God, I hear such beautiful things about Lebanon. How beautiful it is, how they cut down trees from the forests of Lebanon and carried them down the waters to the temple of sight where Solomon built the temple. Yeah, he got wood from Lebanon. And so we see it's a whole different world we live in. But I thank God for Israel and I want you to know that as you vote and I pray that you have registered your voting sheet will be all over the city and county. You don't have to get scared when you get your ballot. What is the first thing you do? The first thing you do is pray over it. Yes, pray over your ballot. Put your hands on it and pray over it. That you will be wise in choosing and who you're choosing or what you're choosing and that your ballot will get to the right place at the right time and be counted. That's what you pray. Father, God, I thank you that this ballot is going to get into the precincts and they're going to count my ballot. And when you pray like this, God will get it to the place where it needs to be counted. Yeah, when we pray like that. Just not mumbling around, but just praying in Jesus name, I thank you for that ballot getting to the right place. Our memory verse for this week is Isaiah 43 verse one. And it's centered on Jacob and Israel. But you can take this. You can take this verse as part of the new covenant that we're involved in. So here it is. Isaiah 43 verse one. But now, thus says the Lord your creator, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel, remember that God formed Israel, the smallest people, the fewest and number of people in the earth. And what did God do? He chose her. I love it because you never have to feel like you're a nobody. God always sees you as somebody. Oh, praise God. So he's saying to Israel into Jacob, your creator is saying this, do not fear for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. And from the message translation, Isaiah 43 verse one through four. This is so good. But now God's message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the one who got you started Israel. Don't be afraid. I've redeemed you. I've called you by name. You are mine says the Lord. When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a heart place, it won't be a dead end because I am God, your personal God, the holy one of Israel, your savior. I paid a huge price for you, all of Egypt with rich, kush and sabah thrown in all these countries around you. Oh, I have paid a huge price for you. That's how much you mean to me. That's how much I love you. I'd sell off the whole world to get you back. Trade the creation just for you. Isn't that beautiful? That's how much he loves us. Oh, don't take the words of the enemy that you're nothing. You don't amount to a hill of beans. No, don't do that to yourself. God loves you so much. He says in 1 John 3, 1, "Behold what manner of love. The Lord has lavished upon you that you are called a child of the Most High God." Praise the Lord. My confession for today by Rick Renner. I confess I will remain steadfast in my commitment. And nothing can sway or move me to change my mind. I refuse to relinquish any of my God-promised territory. My faith is strong and my spirit is tenacious and refuses to let go of God's promises. Amen, amen. I am so serious about my walk with God that I'm telling him to fix any part of my character that is out of whack. I give him permission to delve deep into my soul. You know, he does surgery. Yeah, he's not like the surgeons that we see in America and in the world when there is surgery to be done. That he goes deep inside, inside our soul. And he examines everything to see that he's the number one priority in our lives. Oh, praise the Lord. And so I give him permission. Here's Rick Renner. I give him permission to delve deep into my soul and extract those traits that would keep me from the blessings of God. I declare this by faith in Jesus' name. That's so good. Now Romans 9, verse 20 says, This is for the person that is thinking, I can handle this. I can handle all this by myself. I've had an education and so all of this is something that I can handle. But here, Paul says in Romans 9, 20, But who do you think you are to second-guess God? How could a human being molded out of clay say to the one who molded him? Why in the world did you make me this way? That's why Rick Renner is saying, I give God permission to delve deep into my soul. He's opening up totally to God. And that's why Paul is saying, How could a human being molded out of clay say to the one who molded him? Why in the world did you make me this way? Or are you denying the right of the potter to make out of clay whatever he wants? Doesn't the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay, an elegant vase or an ordinary pot? And if I'm an ordinary pot, you know what? The person that's going to use me uses me every day. That elegant vase isn't going to be used very often. But the ordinary pot? It's going to be used. Praise the Lord. Oh, and how can we sum this up? All those people who didn't seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing, as he straightened out our lives. Praise the Lord. And Israel, this is verse 31 of Romans 9, and Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about God, missed it because they didn't have a personal relationship with God. They just talked about him. How could they miss it because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their churchy God projects that they didn't notice God right in front of them like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. I love the message because of its practical applications to what we go through every day. And when we get hit in between our eyes, we're going, "Okay, what's going on, God? What am I doing here?" And he says, "Well, you didn't listen to me and you made a decision that might be hurtful to you, so I'm wanting to get your attention." So in verse 33 of Romans 9, Paul is saying, "Izea again gives us the metaphor for pulling all this together." And this is in Isaiah 28, 16, and it is quoted in Romans 9. "Behold, I land Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. He who believes in him will not be disappointed or put to shame or disgraced. Praise God. We don't have to think about living a life of shame any longer. Careful, I put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion." Now that's on the road to Jesus. We're on the road to Jesus, to Jerusalem, to see Jesus. In fact, this metaphor is to come into the very heart of who Jesus is. I put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion. A stone you can't get around. But the stone is me. If you're looking for me, you'll find me on the way, not in the way. This is so good. I hope you've been reading your word. And we're getting into parts of Isaiah in the Old Testament, in the word power for every hour. Where the first 39 chapters were destruction, and there were some gems in there. They're really where. And that's why I enjoy reading through the first 39 chapters. But oh, beginning in the 40th chapter, it's comfort, comfort you, my people. Oh, it's just so beautiful. So I hope that you will go to Isaiah 40 and read with me a chapter a day. That's all you need to read a chapter a day. And we'll get through the few chapters that are left in Isaiah. Oh, I love reading Isaiah. And when I looked into the meaning of the stone, it's really interesting. The verse that found the foundation stone that God is talking about is in all these references is Jesus. He's our foundation stone. The Hebrew word for stone is from the root word for son. He took the word stone and it's a metaphor for his son, our Lord Jesus. Isn't that interesting? God's foundation stone is his son. And now that foundation stone has become many, many foundation stones. Now in Isaiah 28 verse 16, the one that I just read to you, behold, I lay in Zion a foundation stone. A tridestone, a precious cornerstone. He that believeth in me will never be disgraced. That is the most written about verse in the whole Bible, in the whole Bible. And I've looked through this for years. I finally come up with how many verses of this scripture behold, I lay in Zion. It's found not only in Isaiah 28 16, but it starts in Psalm 118 verse 22, the rock, the stone. Acts 4 verse 11, Romans 9, 32, I just read that Ephesians 2, 20, and 1 Peter 2, 6. I'm going to be reading that. In 1 Peter 2, 5 through 7, we see these stones being built into God's temple. Oh, this is so exciting. Yes, I'm not getting older, I'm getting better. 1 Peter 2, 5 through 10. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. Praising him by lifting up your hands and your heart to him. As the scriptures say, I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem chosen for great honor and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced. And he's talking about his son Jesus. Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, the stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. And it goes on to say, he is the stone that makes people stumble. The rock that makes them fall. When we aren't in one accord with God, there's a lot of stumbling going on. It was in my early years, oh my goodness, stumbling and falling and stumbling and falling and making the wrong decisions and stumbling and falling. They stumble because they do not obey God's word. And so they meet the faith that was planned for them. Oh, but verse nine, a first Peter 2 says, but you are not like that for you are a chosen people. Royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God. Once you had no identity as people, see, I didn't have, I was so scattered when I was younger, I didn't have any identity. Why do you want to be when you grow up? Oh, I want to be a teacher. Oh, I want to be a firefighter. Oh, I want to be a nurse. Oh, I want, it goes on and on and on. And even in high school, I changed my wanting my desire for what I wanted to be often, often very often. But see, now we have an identity in Jesus Christ. Now you are God's people. Once you received no mercy, now you have received God's mercy. And that mercy is so wonderful because first John 1.9 says, if we confess our sins, when you recognize a sin, my dear friend, you go to him. And you say, wow, I have done wrong. I have sinned against you. Please forgive me. And you know what? He forgives you. First John 1.9 says that as we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Look at what God has given you as a believer in Jesus Christ. As our verse for this week, we're no longer afraid. For God has redeemed us. We are His. We belong to Him. You are now walking in the confidence of God, knowing that He has given you peace while the world is running around in panic. Because you are relying on God and not on this world system, the Lord is gracious to you and He has compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice. You want to see justice? Your God is the judge. And He will bring justice upon the unfairness and dishonesty that is happening all over the world. How blessed are those who long for Him? Oh, people in Zion, inhabitants in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When He hears it, He will answer you. Even though the Lord has allowed you to go through a season of hardship and difficulty, He Himself will be there with you. He will not hide Himself from you as your eyes constantly see Him as your teacher. When you turn to the right or turn to the left, you will hear His voice behind you to guide you saying, "This is the right path, follow it." And you're going to read scriptures like that from the 40th chapter of Isaiah, "Clear through to the 66th. You're going to enjoy all these verses. I hope you're going to read with me. I really encourage you to. I challenge you to do that." Oh, behold, I lay in Zion a foundation of stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone. He, that believe us, shall never be dismayed. Here's Leon Patilla. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh, hell, Lou, I love that song. I wonder if Leon is still with us. Or if God's called him home. That would be really interesting. I'll have to go home and find out. What a wonderful, wonderful composer he was. Oh, God is with us in our troubles, friend. He will not hide himself from us in the times of distress, teaching us even in our trials. I believe I've learned more in my trials about my Lord and about me, about me, than in the good times that I've had. I really do believe that. He will lead us into making good decisions and we will have his promise of constant guidance as we listen to him. He will lead us into making good decisions and we will have his promise of constant guidance as we listen to his voice. Look, listen to God. He's saying, look, the Lord is coming from far away, burning with anger against our enemies, surrounded by thick rising smoke. His lips are filled with fury. He's going to come and be judge. Oh, Lou, your words consume like fire. His hot breath pours out like a flood up to the neck of his enemies. He will sift out the proud nations for distress. He will bridle them and lead them away to ruin. But the people of God will sing a song of joy like the songs that the Holy Feast has sung. He will sing a song of joy like the songs of the Holy Feast. He will sing a song of joy like the songs of the Holy Feast. In October, you will be filled with joy as when a flutist leads a group of pilgrims to Jerusalem, the mountain of the Lord, to the rock of Israel. And the Lord will make his majestic voice heard. He will display the strength of his mighty arm. It will descend with devouring flames, with cloud bursts thunderstorms and huge hail stones. Oh, at the Lord's commandeus serians, that's Israel's enemy today. That's that name, Assyrians. That's Hamas, that's Palestinians. That's G-Hod, that's all of it thrown together. Assyrians are a symbol of that. They will be shattered. He will strike them down with his royal scepter. It will not be by man's sort. That they will be destroyed. It will be gods. It will be gods' arm. His right arm is going to destroy Israel's enemy. Remember that friend. And remember that victory is ours. Oh, in the end, we're going to find that God is the one who is going to be victorious in all this earth. God bless you and keep you. I hope you will remember that as you go through your day and as you sleep tonight. That he will give you that blessed sleep that you need to be restored and revitalize. God bless you and keep you and 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 partners 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 in heart prize 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. [Music]
Join Barbara and Darren as they explore the importance of seeking new opportunities and stepping out in faith. Listen to testimonies of individuals finding miracles on their journey and learn how changing your environment can lead to new beginnings and fulfillment in life. Through candid conversations, they emphasize the transformative power of prayer, the necessity to leave comfort zones, and trusting in God's perfect plan for our lives.
SPEAKER 01 :
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 Power 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.
SPEAKER 02 :
You will be listening to a Darren Live broadcast today. By the amount of calls and emails I've received, you have enjoyed hearing shows from the past. On this program, Darren and I talk about the negative effect that fear has on a person's life. And we discuss the fact that God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. Thank you for joining us today. approach it as an opportunity to see God at work in your life. As we join the broadcast, Darren is talking about our special friends, Jack and Nancy. Let's join this Encore Darren Live program now.
SPEAKER 06 :
And we've been doing those meetings there for over three years. And we probably should have kept a Tuesday miracle log because we've had so many. And people getting born again, set free, finding new friends. The list could go on and on. And, you know, even Jack was mentioned in the newspaper out in Strasburg.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. Yes.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jack the meter man.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. The meter reader.
SPEAKER 06 :
It was really, really a neat article about Jack. Jack and Nancy are frequent visitors to our class. In fact, not just visitors. They're kind of old timers. But we have a good time and we see people growing in the Lord. And that's so exciting to me to see people that are fighting that great big monster, the big main monster the devil throws against us as that monster called fear. And it's not just called a monster in scripture. It's called a spirit monster.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's right. And it is sin. When we give into those things, so many of us, we give into fear or we give into anxiety or worry. And I know some people don't believe those are sins, but those are sins. And it says God didn't give us the spirit of fear. And it's because it is so detrimental in our lives. God isn't that kind of God to give us that fear. But he gave us power and love and a sound mind. And Darren, that's such a reassurance. Praise God. I need to apologize. I need to apologize to you and the listening audience. You're speaking to me? Yes, I'm speaking to you. I need to apologize to all of you because yesterday Holy Spirit was nudging me saying, you know, you had a couple of prophetic words for people and he was saying ears, ears. and someone has a problem with their ears, and they just cannot hear. It's either a big vacuum, it's like they're inside of a drum, or it's ringing, or something like that. And I didn't say anything on the show. Of course, we had three calls, and half an hour just goes boom, boom, and it's gone. And so all afternoon, he kept... telling me about ears last night. We get to the meeting and we had such a great time. And I'll tell you, over 50 people came during that. It was windy and cold. I mean, and I'll tell you, I was amazed. We have some really true diehards in the Lord. I just, I love all of you. Praise God.
SPEAKER 06 :
What's your apology?
SPEAKER 02 :
So, and then I get there and during prayer, Holy Spirit is saying ears again. And I didn't do it. And I just ask your forgiveness because I got home and I started reading the envelopes. And one of the prayer requests was, please pray for my ears. I have ringing in my ears. So in Jesus name, I thank you, Father God, that if this person is listening or any of you that have problems with your ears this morning. Put your hand over your ears in Jesus name. I know Holy Spirit wants to heal you because he was nudging me all day yesterday. I asked his forgiveness and he is ready to heal you today. And in Jesus name, I thank you, Father, that you are going by the unction of Holy Spirit to everyone that has a problem in their ears so that they can open their ears, their natural ears in here. And Father God, I ask also that you open their spiritual ears. to hear the word of God. In Jesus' name, thank you for this healing. Hallelujah. Amen.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, we also had a marvelous miracle shared with us last night. A lady who received a tremendous miracle in the class probably two months ago has been coming alone by herself the last few weeks because her husband was working night shift. Well, he held up his hand last night. He said, I had a major miracle. I got a new job and twice the pay that I had before.
SPEAKER 05 :
Isn't that great?
SPEAKER 06 :
And, you know, we prayed for things like that, that God would just bring around the best employment possible But he's the type of guy that will go out and ask, make himself available for those openings. And, you know, you can pray and pray in your prayer closet, but some days you have to get out and go out and fill out a job application. You have to go out and make a move. And I have a letter in front of me here, and I'll let you put the name on this guy that you want to put on him. I mean, if you would describe this guy.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, we can just call him Single Guy.
SPEAKER 06 :
Single Guy. Okay. In fact, that's the way he signed his letter. Now, I'm not going to tell you whether he's in Garden City, Kansas, Georgetown, Colorado, Carr, Colorado, Otis, Joe's, Raton, New Mexico, down in Canadian, Texas. I'm not going to say where this guy's from, okay? But he's from a small town. Okay, here's what he says. Dear Darren, I'm writing to you because during your show I'm working. I don't always get a chance to listen to your show. I don't have a computer. Now here's my details. I'm 36 years old, a male. I've never been married. I have no kids. That's good. Darren, I'd like to be, well, I mean, you shouldn't probably have kids if you have never been married, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
That's true.
SPEAKER 06 :
I would like a miracle because I live in a small town and all the Christian women here are in high school. Well, he probably should draw a line through that option.
SPEAKER 02 :
I don't think that's the total truth, though, either. I think there are other single women who are Christians.
SPEAKER 06 :
He said, yes, I am a born-again Christian. I want to meet the soulmate of my life. Pray for me. Would you write to me and let me know? Well, instead of writing, I'm going to send him a copy of this tape. But here's what I'm going to say. You know, I've driven up and down I-25 for many, many thousands of miles. I've never seen anybody catch trout in the middle of I-25. Well, you say, how stupid an illustration. Well, no, it's not really stupid. The reason you don't catch trout in the middle of I-25 is there's no trout there.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's right.
SPEAKER 06 :
So if you want to find trout, you're probably going to have to get off the highway and drive up in the mountains and find a stream where there is some trout.
SPEAKER 02 :
And we're not saying there are no single Christian women there, but he just hasn't met them.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, it sounds like it. But here's my point. If I want to catch catfish and I'm fishing for catfish, I've just got to have catfish. Probably I'm going to have to maybe go to Kansas or down in Oklahoma or down into Texas. I'm going to go down where they have a lot of warm water. If I want catfish, if you're going to catch what you're after, you got to go where they are. That's my point. And I, you know, we have a lot of people talk to us and they give us, they give us, they just think they've got an impossible situation. No, you know, there are no borders there. keeping you from driving to Denver. And there are a lot of single, wonderful Christian ladies here in Denver.
SPEAKER 02 :
Job opportunities are absolutely wonderful. Job opportunities are wonderful. In fact, probably better than in this little town.
SPEAKER 06 :
In this little town. Okay. Also, I know a little bit about Tulsa, Oklahoma. I mean, there's an abundance of singles there, both men and women. And if you're not finding what you're looking for where you are, guess what? Get yourself in the vehicle and get going.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's right. There's Bible school there, and I'll tell you, there are people that are 45 and 50 going to that Bible school.
SPEAKER 06 :
And some older than that.
SPEAKER 02 :
And I know two men from this exact area where he's from. After graduating from high school, they went to Tulsa, and they found their wives in Tulsa. I mean, we just read here in Genesis, Darren, about Isaac. He didn't have a wife, and Abraham sent the servant to the foreign country, Haran, which was many days east of where they lived. to find a wife for him. Also, Jacob, he ran away from home for fear of his brother Esau, but he found a wife in another country also. So they left home and they found a wife. Now, if you say, well, I can't leave home, then you are limiting God because there's no such thing as I can't. I know I lived in the Greeley area for 40 years. And Darren, when you were talking about moving to Denver, I said, oh, this is home. I can't do that. And God almost had to kick me out of there. But he did. And praise God that he did, because our life has changed. And I'm so fulfilled and satisfied.
SPEAKER 06 :
And you like Denver.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, I love Denver. Yes. A lot of people in like city.
SPEAKER 06 :
We happen to like it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I'm from the country. I was raised on a farm.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, here's what we're saying, folks. Some of you are where you are, and you're complaining because there are just no opportunities. And I would agree with you. In some communities, there are very limited or no opportunities, maybe for marriage or for job, for employment, for advancement. Don't let fear keep you there. You may be in a very comfortable paralytic. Now, I want you to hear me, paralytic loop situation. Some of you are in a paralytic loop in the middle of Denver saying, oh, I just can't find a good church. Oh, I just can't find anybody to fellowship. I can't find anybody to lay hands on me and pray the prayer of faith and put their faith with mine so I can get healed. Or I could find a better job if somebody just agreed. Oh, I can't find any good friends. Hey, try Tuesday night. We have some delightful people on Tuesday night.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, or try so many times in these apartment complexes, there's community centers. Try getting out of your little four walls and meeting the person across the hall or meeting the person down the street. It does take effort on your part. You cannot sit at home, watch television and expect to find somebody or a job or be in fellowship. That is impossible. And so we encourage you. You must make a decision. God has the best for you, but you have to believe that if he sends you somewhere, it's the very best for you.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, I've talked to quite a few people that were doing the loop, and they were paralyzed in their situation. And they said, oh, Brother Darren, would you pray for me? And they'd give me a request, something like this. You know, I need to find a wife, or I need to find a husband, or I need to find a better job. And I have a rather creative mind, so I'd stand there for a little bit, and I'd say, well, have you thought about it? Oh, no, I couldn't. No, no, that wouldn't work. And, you know, you go through six or eight or ten options. And then they got all the reasons why that wouldn't work. And then I walk away saying, well, guess I just found out why it just won't work for them. They're going to be locked in. Or I might tell somebody, you know, you could be healed. Oh, let me tell you about my family. They start giving me their family medical history. And I say, now I know why you're not healed. is you have accepted the limitations of your situation, and that's tragic. That is really, really tragic.
SPEAKER 05 :
It is.
SPEAKER 06 :
Don't allow the devil to get you in a corner and plaster up all the walls and do all that kind of stuff, and then you tell me, well, I just can't get out of here. Yes, you can. Mm-hmm. Yes, you can. And praise God, we still live in a free country. Bless God. And there are no fences across I-70 or I-25 or I-80. We flew this weekend down to Phoenix, and there weren't any doors on Phoenix keeping us out of there or out of Tucson. And when we got back to Denver, there were no barbed wire fences keeping us out of Denver.
SPEAKER 02 :
Praise God.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, come on, folks. There's a way to change your circumstances, and it might be that you have to put down your pet little idol called fear. Now, I have been there. I know what it's like to feel fearful. I know what it's like to say, well, there's new territory. I mean, could I get a job? Yes, I've driven clear across the country and found a job in a brand-new city.
SPEAKER 02 :
I think it also involves laziness, too, because we get into a rut or we get into a schedule or a routine. And the very idea of getting out of that is just absolutely impossible for us to think about. And because we're so familiar with what we're doing, we can't possibly get into any new adventure or area. And I say, wow, that is that's tremendous to be able to think about. Hey, I'm going to do something brand new that I've never done before and get excited about it.
SPEAKER 06 :
And you've got to know this, that God is in your town, whether it's a little town, a big town, or a big city. He's there. But he's also down the road and around the bend and over the hill. He's there also. And if you give him a chance, and I look at it this way. When I drive through the farming communities, I look at a grain elevator, and sometimes I see these trucks that drive in for a load of grain. And you know that grain is not going to come out in the middle of the street. It's not going to be half a mile down the other end of town. You have to get under that spout in the elevator for that grain to drop in your truck. Some of you are trying to get God's glory where you are. And God says, look. My glory is going to be on your life and my blessing is going to be on your life 50 miles down the road. And you're going to have to move. If you're going to find that place of blessing, you're going to have to move.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that's what he did with Abraham. That's what he did with Joseph. That's what he did with many, many.
SPEAKER 06 :
Abraham's father was an idol maker. They had to be very wealthy, but God says, Abraham, you're moving. And he didn't have a map. He didn't really know where he was going. He just believed God and went for it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, and he had much more success than if he would have stayed there. Also, I have a verse from Genesis 28, verse 20 through 22, when Jacob had run away from home to go to his uncle Laban's house, his mother Rebecca's brother. And he saw a ladder going down from heaven and angels up and down the ladder. I think that was God telling him, I'm going to take care of you, Jacob. And Jacob said something to God. God, if you will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take and give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I can return to my father's house in safety, which he did many years later. Then this stone, which I have set up as an altar, as a pillar will be God's house. And of that thou does give me, I will give you a 10th of all that you give me. Now, this is the second time that this tide is mentioned once with Abraham meeting Melchizedek. Now with Jacob, I believe Darren, when we put God first and we say, God, I'm going to get to know you and you're going to bring all of my desires together. If this young man can say, Father God, I'm going to give you the first part of my day. I'm going to make sure that I tithe and I give you what is yours. And I'm going to make sure that my life is congruent, Lord, the way you asked me to do it. Then God will bring the woman in his life. I truly believe that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, I believe this too, Barbara, that many times God just gives us a choice. And let me give you an example. We talked to a lot of people are from North Dakota. So let me pick on North Dakota for a minute. If you don't like real cold winters and real hot summers, you probably shouldn't live in Bismarck, North Dakota. Now, I haven't lived there, but that's what they tell me. They have hot, hot summers and they have real cold winters. Well, guess what? You have a choice. And if you don't like cold weather, why don't you move south? And, you know, God may just be saying, you know, I don't care whether you live in Albuquerque or whether you live in Riverside, California, or whether you live in Tucson, Arizona. I don't really care. Or maybe you want to go down to Brownsville, Texas. I just don't care. But see, I believe that he gives us many times that choice.
SPEAKER 02 :
I know. I've always wondered when there's a great flood along a river or something and all their houses are absolutely flooded. And this doesn't happen just once in 100 years. This happens maybe every 25 or 30 years. Or every 10 years. They've got to rebuild. Or on the slopes of California and their house goes down to the sea and they build there again. I'm going... Are they stupid or something? I mean, I would get up on the shore far away, at least two or three miles away, if I knew that might happen again. And people are, what are they, creatures of habit? They have got to go and rebuild again.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, many people tend their life, I should have, would have, could have, you know, I could have done better, I should have moved, and they didn't move.
SPEAKER 02 :
They didn't move.
SPEAKER 06 :
They didn't move.
SPEAKER 02 :
And they got destroyed, man.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, let's talk to, there's a lady on the phone, Pam in North Glen, how are you?
SPEAKER 04 :
Hi, Darren. Hi, Barbara. Hi. How are you? Doing good. Great. Last night when I left the meeting, and I was talking to you, Barbara, last night about my husband.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
And a ton of bricks fell on me as I was turning the corner into the driveway. My husband is a reasoner and a planner. And I know you're supposed to ponder. And that's a lot different than reasoning, isn't it?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
And... How do I go about praying that reasoning thing away from him?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I believe that Ephesians 1, 17 and 18 is really good. And I would really pray to know that he is, I mean, born again. I know sometimes it's really hard for a wife to sit down with a husband and Honey, do you really know that Jesus is Lord of your life? If you know that, then you can read Ephesians 1, 17 and 18 and pray that for him, that his eyes, the spiritual eyes would be open for him. Because I know you and I have talked about it, that he just doesn't believe in giving to the Lord. And that is a real important part of being a born again Christian. And so we need to ask God to change that mindset that he has, because it is really carnal. It is a carnal mindset that he has. So change those patterns of what he grew up thinking and hungering and thirsting. That's another thing you need to pray for him. Matthew five, six. Oh, good. Good. That's great.
SPEAKER 06 :
I would bless your husband with the thirst for righteousness. And Pam, let me say this to you. I spent several years in college. But if the colleges had the answers, you know, we'd be lined up from here to Boulder trying to break the doors down to get in there. And the answers for mankind are not really found at the mind and the reason level. They're found in the heart. And one reason we have so many metal breakdowns in the United States is we try to reason and we're trying to make the mind do something God didn't create it to do. The mind really needs to be a servant of the spirit. So can I read a little scripture to you? Sure. Okay, in Romans 8.6 it says, For it does not subject itself to the law of God. It's not even able to do so. And those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, that's good.
SPEAKER 06 :
And, you know, we try to get people to have a spiritual identity, and many people try to have a mental identity. They say, above all, I have to reason, I have to think, I have to figure things out, I have to deduct, I have to, you know, all that stuff. And that person is really bound that does that. So I suspect your husband is bound just because he's depending on his mind too much.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's what I see here more and more that I've been home. Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
So then fear, of course, is right there at the door to paralyze a person's thinking. And this is a scary world. If you don't really trust in God, this is a scary world. Because all you have to do is read just the headlines. If you didn't read the paper, just read the headlines. Just listen to a little CNN news. I mean, you'd freak out. And it's no wonder that there are a lot of people committing suicide today. And a lot of the younger people today are taking that option of suicide. They're saying, hey, the adults haven't figured this out. They've screwed up our world. And I just think I'm just going to check out. And a lot of them do. And that's because they're trying to reason it out, trying to figure it out. And there are a lot of things, very honestly, you just plain won't figure. Know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. Now, he won't let you give your tithe, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, we go around and around about it. I'm trying to be a submissive wife, which is hard for me to do sometimes. But he's a money handler, and he does it really well. Except for that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Does he do it really well? Yes, he does. Do you have everything that you desire?
SPEAKER 04 :
Um...
SPEAKER 02 :
90% of it, yes. Do you? Okay. I'm saying if you would talk to him and say, could I take the money that I earn and give that 10%? You're not asking him to give you all the paycheck to God, all your paycheck to God. You're just asking for 10% of your paycheck. And let's do an experiment for 90 days.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. I was going to suggest that, but. With me not working for the past couple of months, I know that's a lame excuse.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, but now you are working again, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
I'll be starting here at the end of the week. Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I would agree with Barbara there. I believe God will just do things for you.
SPEAKER 04 :
I do, too.
SPEAKER 06 :
Your husband needs to see something.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's right.
SPEAKER 06 :
God's not beyond being challenged there. In fact, this is one area and only area in Scripture where he says, test me. Try me out. Try me out.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Because I think he's a reasoner and he's overwhelmed by that fierce thing going on. We're not going to have enough money.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I tell you what, when you pray for your husband, buy him the spirit of fear.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and bless him with peace and with righteousness.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, Pam.
SPEAKER 03 :
God bless you. God bless.
SPEAKER 06 :
We love you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Love you, too. Okay. Bye-bye.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let's talk to Seal and Greeley. How are you?
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm doing pretty good. Good. I've looked into you guys off and on for quite some time, but this is the first time I actually got through when you were actually there. Oh, well, good to know.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, we're glad you called.
SPEAKER 03 :
I was... I was listening, and I just came out of an appointment and heard you talking about going and getting a job somewhere else and getting out of the four walls. Right. I just wanted to share with you an experience that my husband and I had. We were living in Minnesota, and we were planning our vacation to northern Minnesota. And the night before we left, we really felt like the Lord was telling us to come to Colorado to visit his mother. And so the next day, instead of going to northern Minnesota, we came to Colorado. While we were here, we had been thinking we'd always wanted to move back here so he could be by his mom. And it's been, it was, I think, like 10 years. And while we were here, all of a sudden we thought, you know, Oh, let's see if there's jobs. And we were here for a week. During that week, I called on a job position, got a job. My husband went back, or we all went back. I quit my job that I had. and we moved to colorado did your husband get a job here too yes he did actually he came here on the promise of a job oh and um he didn't even know for sure if he'd get it or not um but if you trust that god is faithful and he is telling you that that's where you need to be um all it's going to work out exactly so has he taken care has he taken care of you Oh, yes. I mean, it did take time for my husband to get here because we had to sell our other home. But we had time to see each other like we met in between for a couple months. But the good thing was within two weeks of my husband getting here, Here, we bought a new home.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, praise God.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I think it was just the timing, because the people whose home that we bought had been thinking about selling their home, and so God wanted to place us in the place where we were.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
And He didn't want us to get a different home, so there were other things that had to fall in line. So it's really been wonderful.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good.
SPEAKER 03 :
We've been working and doing... Well, actually, now I'm a stay-at-home mom, so... God's blessing us tremendously because we listen.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, that's right. And you obeyed. You did more than listen. Shema. That word Shema is in Deuteronomy 6.4. And it's a Hebrew word meaning listen with the intent of obeying. That's what you did. That's what you did.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, I was listening yesterday with Dr. Zodiati.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
It was so wonderful. And I had always wanted a Hebrew-Greek study Bible. I had Dr. Sodiatis, and I gave it to my pastor because he'd always wanted one, and I just gave it to him as a gift.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, you blessed your pastor.
SPEAKER 03 :
So do you have one? No. Well, I got a cheap one, and it wasn't the same one. I didn't realize that. I thought I was getting the same one, and I don't like it as much, but... It'll work until I can get a different one.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, we'll pray that you get a Dr. Zodiani's Hebrew-Greek study.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, thank you. Yes, I'm going to be looking for the New Testament one that he was talking about. The Greek one.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, the Greek one.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, we were so honored to be able to interview a man of that stature on our show. I mean, that's like a dream for us. We've had his Bible for a number of years, and that was actually a rerun that we did on Monday. because we weren't able to get on the plane. All the planes were full coming back from Phoenix. So we did rerun that show, and so many people are blessed.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, I'm glad you did because I would have missed it because I didn't get to hear it before that.
SPEAKER 02 :
God bless you. Listen, if you're not on our mailing list and you haven't gotten a devotional from us this year, we'd be happy to send you one if you give John your name and address. Okay. All right. Wonderful.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 02 :
Delightful call. It was great.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thanks, Celia.
SPEAKER 02 :
Bye now. Bye. Wow, what a great praise report. Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
Amen. It's important. Amen. I'll tell you, we have just about a minute to go. And folks, we want to tell you, we absolutely love doing these radio shows. And more than that, we love watching our listeners grow in the Lord. Yes.
SPEAKER 1 :
877-917-7256
SPEAKER 01 :
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 partners 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 praise reports and heart cries by mailing them to Call to Freedom, Box 370-367, Denver, Colorado, 80237. Or you may email us at barbracarmack at freedomstreet.org. Until next time, remember, Jesus loves you, Barbara loves you, and take joy.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
Join Barbara Carmack and Kimberly as they delve into the rich narrative of Job, exploring the human experience of loss and the divine promise of comfort. Through personal anecdotes and scriptural insights, they shed light on the importance of empathy, the role of divine grace, and the journey towards spiritual redemption. This episode provides hope and inspiration, inviting listeners to embrace faith as a source of strength and understanding in the face of adversity.
SPEAKER 01 :
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 Power 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.
SPEAKER 03 :
And on this blustery morning, I know in Kimberly's territory there, it's raining and I wish it were raining here. It snowed overnight, but this is winter folks. So welcome to call to freedom. The Lord bless you with the riches of his grace, the treasures of his love, the comfort of his mercies, the strength of his presence and the touch of his care. I know that most of us have heard about the crash in the Potomac River and the deaths that occurred. And several, I know of one skating couple, teenagers with their mothers were killed. And also a Russian coach who were champions in 1996. They are also dead, along with precious friends and loved ones who were just about ready to land there. and hug their friends and their loved ones. And I think of all the times that we thought, God, why couldn't you stop this? Why couldn't you do it, Lord? And we've got to come to the conclusion that there is an enemy. And we don't know what caused this, but we know that God is going to work all things together for good, even for those precious families that lost loved ones. And I think of 2 Corinthians 1. Oh, God is so good. I go to the Word. I go to the Word. I go to the rock of my salvation. And in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, the Father, the God of all comfort, all comfort. When these families look to God for comfort, He's going to wrap His big, wonderful arms around them and give them perfect peace. And it says, the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with a comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. So what an opportunity we have as believers in Jesus Christ to comfort those who are asking questions right now and just telling them we serve a God who is loving, merciful, kind, gracious to all of us and we are at the point where we're just about to go to be with Jesus Christ and be taken up with him would you like to join would you like to join and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior there's always that opportunity and much more now than ever before so I'm so grateful that you're joining me today that we can be a comfort to one another because you are a comfort to me and Kimberly you are a comfort to me
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, you are to me as well, Mom. Yes, I think you brought up something that does. It does enter our minds when we hear of some kind of suffering or tragedy like this. We tend to wonder, why didn't God stop that? And that question, it never gets us to good places.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, that's so good, yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. We end up angry. We end up full of self-pity. We end up depressed. We just take it too far. And we forget how much grace our God has. Yes. The thing is, we imagine how hard it is for the people who have experienced this loss. Anytime we put ourselves in someone else's shoes and imagine, that can be a good thing. Because... then we're feeling compassion and we're feeling empathy for others. And that's a good thing. Compassion and empathy are good. We want to approach people with compassion. That is how God approaches us, with much compassion.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
At the same time, we can forget, when we put ourselves in their shoes, we can forget how much grace they have for what they're going through. We don't have the same grace because it might not be us that's going through it. We might not be experiencing the loss the same way they are. I think that's been playing out for my friend Holly, who had just such a great loss. It's still so young. feeling angry at first and then realizing if I choose not to blame, if I choose not to go down the path of complaining, grumbling, and being bitter about this. If I choose instead to keep having a conversation with God, keep asking him about everything that I find in the house, everything that I'm doing, if I stay in love with him, She decided to go ahead and go down that route of let me try it. If I do this, then what will happen? Grace upon grace upon grace is poured out on her. And I am believing for that same grace that will bring so much comfort that we can't comfort other people. unless we ourselves have experienced something broken. And the whole world is broken. Wouldn't you like to be able to truly bring solid comfort to other people? We can only do it if we've experienced some kind of tragedy, some kind of suffering, some kind of pain in our lives that needed comfort in the first place. So we comfort others with the comfort that we have been given. And then it just continues to spread, hopefully like ocean water, you know, just flood in with comfort upon comfort upon comfort. And that's what we pray for these people who have just experienced great loss.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, thank you, Kimberly. Yes. And when we look back, we're going to go back to Job 33, folks, because there is so much in this little chapter. And I just identified so much with some of the things that were said that I said, Kimberly, we've got to go over this again. And I'm reading it in the message today. And this is Elihu. He's the youngest of the friends that Job had. And he doesn't talk until the very end. And he says, maybe he went through some real tragedy in his own young life. Maybe something happened to him. You know, like, for instance, even when you and Dana lost your father. Dana was 19 and you were 22. That's a great loss. And you were young. So he says here to Job, please, Job, hear me out. Honor me by listening to me. What I'm about to say has been carefully thought out. I have no ulterior motives in this. I'm speaking honestly from my heart. And this is from the message. The Spirit of God made me what I am. The breath of God Almighty gave me life. And if you think you can prove me wrong, do it. Lay out your arguments. Stand up for yourself. Look, I'm human, no better than you. We're made of the same kind of mud. So let's work this through together. Don't let my aggressiveness overwhelm you. So here was a man that came alongside Job. He didn't accuse him of being a sinner or wicked. This was the consequences of him sinning a great sin. And that's why he's sick now. And he says in verse eight, here's what you said. And then he brings up Job's very words. Here's what you said. I heard you say it with my own ears. You said, I'm pure. I've done nothing wrong. Believe me, I'm clean. My conscience is clear. But God keeps picking on me. He treats me like I'm his enemy. He's thrown me in jail. He keeps me under constant surveillance. And that's one thing I've done in my life, Kimberly. I've defended myself. Well, I'm a good woman. I've been reading the Bible all through for the last, you know, I'm going to say for the years that I had been reading the Bible when I was younger. And I don't know why this is happening to me. And see, that's what Elihu is trying to bring These words of Job as defensive words rather than saying, okay, God, your will be done in my life, not what I've achieved in my own life.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, yeah, I'm so glad you wanted to talk about this again because you're right. There's a lot for us to learn in this. And if we go back one chapter to chapter 32 and look at verse 2, this is where Elihu first starts speaking. And he's introduced on the scene. He's not even mentioned before this. You know, he just... he he was just a silent partner in the whole book of job until chapter 32 and in verse 2 it says that he became indignant that his indignation was kindled against job because job justified himself rather than god yes yes i don't know how it says it in the message but Anytime that we are trying to justify our own position, our own ideas, our own opinions, rather than asking God what his is. That's right. His opinion is superior to ours. God will always be superior to man.
SPEAKER 03 :
And Kimberly, I am so grateful that there were people in my life that came to me and they were pretty hard on me. I think of two or three in particular, really hard on me. And they said, Barbara, you should not be so critical and judgmental of others. And boy, I was really upset by that. And I can see how Job is saying here with Elihu, I am innocent, but I'm grateful that people come alongside us, and friends especially, people that we know. You know, you should be looking at this, Barbara, in another way. You're kind of focusing on the left side instead of right down the middle and what God is doing in your life. So we need those friends to come along. And yeah, sometimes be hard, be harsh, but have our best interests in their minds in mind.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. Yes. You know, for those who who are maybe not as social and don't have a whole lot of friend groups. That's why we want to make this a conversation with the Lord. He is our best friend. And to keep talking to him and asking him, what do you think? He will answer. He will find a way to give you an answer. It might be through a book or a song, or it might be through somebody else, but it might be through a movie. So being able to just stay open to other answers rather than your own idea. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. And like he said, like I was saying yesterday, Job is thinking that God treats him like his enemy. He says, he's thrown me in jail. He keeps me under constant surveillance. Well, that's not the God in the very first part of Job. God had given him so many blessings and he didn't recognize the enemy in his life that was trying to take from him, which he did accept his life. And God said, you can do anything you want to, but don't take his life. Well, he did just about everything he could.
SPEAKER 02 :
And in verse 12, before you get to that, I just you said he didn't recognize the enemy. And I think you might have mentioned that yesterday, too. That's such a good point. We've got to recognize that we do have an enemy. And instead of pointing a finger to God and saying, you didn't work this out. Wait, there's an enemy. God is not the enemy. God is our comforter. So when we're just blaming and angry, we're actually pushing away the greatest comfort that we could ever have. And he is in this world with us, not as this, wow, how did we end up with this idea that all of us are just a bunch of puppets? And he's just making good stories for some of the puppets and bad stories for other puppets. I don't know how we got that idea. He's walking through all of this brokenness with us. It's broken for him, too. His heart aches, too. He's grieving with those families today. As well, we're feeling grief for them, and he's feeling even more grief. These are his people. We are his people. And when he sees his people suffering, it's just like being a parent. When you see your child suffering, it just tears you apart. It almost hurts you worse than it hurts them because it's so hard to watch them go through it. When we go through our own suffering, that's one thing. But when you have somebody really loving you, watching you go through it, that's another thing. There is a certain grace on the life of the person that's going through it and walking through it. And sometimes that grace looks like shock, just utter shock. You can be in shock when you have experienced an accident or a loss that's really great. And that is a form of grace in our lives to help us make it through, to help us take the next steps. So we don't want to be pushing our great comforter away from us. We want to be having more conversations with him and asking him, what do you think about this? How do I go on from here? What do I do with this that's left over? These are pieces of my life now that's left over. Now what do I do?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. And so, you know, Job has just tried to defend himself or justify himself, as you said, for his life that had been a life, a good life. And he had been everything he thought he could be, a great father and husband. And then Elihu says in verse 12, but let me tell you, Job, you're wrong. Wow. God is far greater than any human. So how dare you haul him into court? You know, how dare you charge him, accusing him of being wrong when you've explained, Kimberly, that he's God? He's so much superior than anything that we have in this world. And then complain that he won't answer your charges. God always answers one way or another, even when people don't recognize his presence. In a dream, for instance, a vision at night when men and women are deep in sleep, fast asleep in their beds, God opens his ears and impresses them with warnings. Now, this is good because many times we think of God as a God of love, which he is. But many times he's warning to turn them back from something bad they've been planning or from some reckless choice. And God is so merciful, he kind of takes us and redirects us into a path where we're not going to be harmed when he does discipline us and correct us. Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, it's true. That is what he does. And some people choose to ignore that. So we don't know what went wrong with that airplane. We're talking about that accident that happened last night. And what went wrong for the airplane and the helicopter to collide? We have no idea. But it's pretty... obvious to me that somebody wasn't listening to some kind of instruction.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Or they took it. There could have been instructions, yeah, or misunderstood the instructions.
SPEAKER 03 :
Misunderstood, yes, or took it for granted that somebody was watching from one angle when they weren't watching. I believe it's going to bring changes, especially with a busy airport like Reagan, Ronald Reagan, that they're going to, At least I know President Trump was alluding to this, that this the helicopter should not been should not have been in that area at that time, because, I mean, planes were.
SPEAKER 02 :
So, I mean, there was some kind of instruction, right, that was missed. And whether it was somebody not listening or the just a misinterpretation, there was some instruction. That's that's what we do with God. We do it all the time. We misunderstand an instruction. And that's why we have to keep asking questions. Keep approaching him with curiosity and wanting to know what's next. And make him your best friend. Make him your father that you would go to, your loving father. Abba, what's next, Abba, Father? What do we do with this? And he does give instruction so that he can turn us to a better path and give us a better purpose. He's constantly cutting pride off of us. And pride in us would say, I have the better idea here. And I'm right and you're wrong. That's what pride does. And that's what Job was falling into that category. And that's why Elihu had to come in and say, how dare you? Your ideas are not better than God's.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yep, we have to humble ourselves to that absolute fact. And, you know, he is saying, like you were saying, to turn them from something bad, from something, maybe a bad choice, a reckless choice, to keep them from an early grave, from the river of no return. Verse 20. Verse 20.
SPEAKER 02 :
But then he introduces the amplified version. I just wanted to say the amplified says disgusting him with his own disappointing self-sufficiency. And the Lord lets us be self-sufficient and get to the point where we are wasting away in our self-sufficiency that we end up disgusted with ourselves because it brought us here. We don't want to stay self-sufficient. We want to be dependent on God at all times.
SPEAKER 03 :
Keep going. Oh, no, that's good. And then Elihu introduces angels. An angel could come. There are thousands of them, he says to Job, to take up your cause. A messenger who would mercifully intervene. How many of us call on our angels? I don't think a whole lot of us do. And canceling the death sentence with the words, I've come up with the ransom. Praise the Lord. You talked about that. That's a wonderful thing. That's amazing to me. That ransom in Jesus Christ. And this was thousands of years before Jesus came. And they're introducing a ransom for their souls. And I love the part where they say, you know, he's throwing some of us on a bed of suffering. But before you know it, verse 25, you're healed. The very picture of health. When we look to Jesus, Kimberly, he changes everything. He turns everything around. Oh, or you may. Yeah, you may fall on your knees and pray to God's delight. God delights that, you know, he lives in our praises and he delights our prayers. But how many of us really pray to him? I mean, we can pray, you know, about this happening and praying. But Father God, I'm asking you right now today. So we need to pray more.
SPEAKER 02 :
The Lord has so many wonderful things to share with us and ways to restore our lives and rebuild and help us heal. And this, the amplified version in verse 25, again, we're talking about Job 33. It says this man's flesh will be restored and become fresher and more tender than a child. And he returns to the day of his youth. The strength that we have in our youth is so wonderful. And I know that the Lord wants to share with us. Cause that kind of reaction to our flesh, that kind of strength to be renewed. And we know other scriptures that talk about our strength being renewed like the eagles, making us so strong that we overcome and we are soaring above. the grief, above the anger, above the suffering. And yes, our hearts have been touched with some things very, very sad. But when we turn to our Heavenly Father, He redeems in such a way, gives us beauty for ashes.
SPEAKER 03 :
And don't you think that right there, Elihu was giving a prophetic word to Job. You're not going to be here very much longer, Job. God is going to restore you. He's going to bring you back to health so that your skin is like baby skin. Because he had been scraping the boils off of his skin. I can't even imagine. But scraping the boils off of his skin. Yeah. And so Elihu comes along. Don't you love friends that come along and say, it's going to be better. It's going to be good. We just got to hold on for a little bit longer. It's going to be all right. Yes, it's going to be all right. And you'll see God smile and celebrate finding yourself set right with God. Verse 27 of Job 33, you'll sing God's praises to everyone you meet, testifying, I messed up my life, and let me tell you, it wasn't worth it. But God stepped in and saved me from certain death. I'm alive again. Once more, I see the light. And I'm sure Job went around telling people how God had healed him. It's just so good.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is so good. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yes. The way that God restores and redeems, the way that he rebuilds, it's double. It's double back, you know, and that's what happened with Job. And I love how he is saying that we can recognize we don't see it rightly. We can recognize, okay, I was on the wrong path. And you know what? I am made of flesh. This human part of me, this flesh part of me is constantly making mistakes. But God is not holding it against me. He is constantly working to rebuild and restore and redeem. And he's not holding blame above my head. That is not why he sent his only son to die, to hold us in judgment. He sent his only son. To hold us in forgiveness and to redeem our lives.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. And probably in that time, Job was the most righteous man alive. And he had a great life, great kids, great home, beautiful herds. And yet this could happen to him. So we might say, I want to stay close to God. That's exactly where God wants you, friend. He wants you to stay close to him, trusting in him and everything. That's the way God works. Verse 29 says over and over again, he pulls our souls back from certain destruction. So we'll see the light and live in the light. And Kimberly, who is the light? Right. It's Jesus. Oh, praise God. Yes. So keep listening, Job. Don't interrupt. I'm not finished yet. But if you think of anything I should know, tell me. There's nothing I'd like better than to see your name cleared. And on part, it was partly Job who was in the condemnation mode. Well, why did this happen to me? Why am I here? And we all go through those times. We do. Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, we do. And we have a lot of friends that will agree with us. Yeah, you must have done something really bad. But coming back to knowing our God of grace, coming back to knowing him, that he is our comforter. that he is our wonderful counselor, that he is so full of love and restoration, redemption, that he wants good things for us. He wants to share secrets with us that will cause us to laugh out loud for pure joy, even in the midst of the greatest sorrows.
SPEAKER 03 :
This has been so good. I've just so enjoyed this study of chapter 33 of Job, Kimberly. And I think we need to do more studying, kind of like that. Just kind of piece together all these verses. And sometimes we just go, oh, I've got to do my devotions. I've got to read this scripture today. And we just kind of read through it instead of stopping and allowing Holy Spirit to explain things to us. So thank you. Thank you for being with me today. It's been a blessing. It truly has been. And God bless all of you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for having me. And we hope that you all have a wonderful weekend. God bless you and take joy.
SPEAKER 1 :
877-917-7256
SPEAKER 01 :
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. Our partners 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 praise reports and heart cries by mailing them to Call to Freedom, Box 370-367, Denver, Colorado, 80237. Or you may email us at barbracarmack at freedomstreet.org. Until next time, remember, Jesus loves you, Barbara loves you, and take joy.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
Join us as we delve into Job 42, the final chapter that wraps up our 30-day venture through the compelling story of Job. Witness the restoration of Job's fortune and the renewal of his life after unspeakable trials. Job's sparking repentance and acknowledgment of God's sovereignty serve as eternal lessons for us to remain steadfast in our own life challenges. As we explore reflections from over three decades of journaling, gain valuable insights into maintaining faith and trust in the divine, even when life's trials feel insurmountable.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Alan J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
SPEAKER 02 :
Today we reach Job chapter 42, the last chapter of the book of Job, and the last of our 30-day adventure through this book. We'll see Job respond to God one more time, we'll see God speak, and we'll see God restore everything to Job. Let's listen in to the last chapter of the book of Job, chapter 42. Job 42
SPEAKER 04 :
Then Job answered the Lord and said, I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me which I did not know. Hear and I will speak. I will question you and you make it known to me. I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.
SPEAKER 05 :
After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite,
SPEAKER 03 :
My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly." for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has.
SPEAKER 05 :
So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them. And the Lord accepted Job's prayer. And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first daughter, Jemima, and the name of the second, Keziah, and the name of the third, Karenhapik. And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. And after this Job lived 140 years and saw his sons and his sons' sons four generations. And Job died an old man and full of days.
SPEAKER 02 :
We'll take a look for the last time at those journals I've been using through the book of Job. We'll begin with 1984 as I finished the book of Job with chapters 41 and 42. And I wrote, Job repents. God restores him. 41.11 says, Who has given to me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. And 42.2 says, I know that thou can do all things. Thirteen years later, in 1997, I finished the book of Job. With chapters 35 through 42 on the last day, I wrote, God speaks to Job and his friends. Prepare yourself like a man. I will question you and you shall answer me. God puts Job in perspective. He never ever addresses Job's issues but declares his sovereignty. Everything under heaven is mine. When Job has a chance to answer, he laid his hand over his mouth. I will not answer. There is no answer or question to God. He simply repented for ever questioning God. Lord, forgive me for whining or ever questioning you. Give me strength to live in your sovereignty. And 18 years later, in 2015, I finished the book of Job by reading chapters 40 through 42 on the same day. And I wrote, God calls those who question him fault finders. Job desired, waited for the opportunity to present his case before God. He now has the chance to do so and he says nothing. We are so small before God, our articulation is babbling. Doubtful if any of us are going to question God or present our futile case before him. God never answers Job. He never explains what happened to Job. He reminds Job of how big he is. Job responds, God restores the fortunes of Job. after he prayed for his friends. Job lives 140 years, so his suffering may have been a very short trial in his life. How am I handling my trials? In this last chapter of the book of Job, Job does speak to God. Let's go back and see what he had to say. In verse 2, I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. In verse 3, he says, Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. Job never argues his case before God, does he? Nor will we. Job understands he has no case before God, nor do we. So Job never does understand what happened back in chapter 1, in the book that carries his own name. God does not need to explain himself. After Job successfully faces his trial, this test from God Almighty, Then the Lord restores everything back to Job. Verse 10, And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Verse 12, And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. Verse 16, And after this Job lived 140 years. And verse 17, And Job died an old man and full of days. Notice too, the restoration of Job only came after he was restored to his friends. He had to pray for them, and God said he would hear that prayer from Job. How do you feel after completing the book of Job? Do you feel a little let down that God never tells Job what really happened? Do you feel challenged by your own personal trials and how Job was handled his and he remained faithful? And are you questioning whether you can remain faithful during the trial that God has you in? Or do you feel like you're on the way out of a trial and that you will be restored? Has Job helped build your faith and trust in God? Do you feel sorry for your questioning of God through your life? And do you feel like repenting? Like Job did. Again, look at verse 6. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. Job repented. Do you need to? When we started Job, we said the theme of Job is can God be trusted? It responds to our heart's desire to question God, to wonder about our faith in a sovereign God when things don't appear to be going right. We said Job questioned God, but while demonstrating unshakable faith... Has our journey through Job given you unshakable faith? Let's close out our journey through the book of Job in prayer. Father, we thank you for this book, a book of despair, a book of trial, a book of trouble, a recap of a life much like our own. Job suffered. He lost it all, but his faith never wavered. As you put us through the tests of life, may we be like Job. May our faith never waver. Thank you for strengthening us through this book. Thank you for reminding us the trials will come in our lives. Thank you for reminding us of who you are. You're bigger than any trial we will ever face. And thank you for the promise of restoration. You restored Job. May you restore us as well. Thank you for the lessons of life in the book of Job. Holy Spirit, apply them to each of our journeys. as we continue our sojourn on the earth. Job had many more years to live after this trial. We may too. So thank you for the promise of restoring us. We give you all the praise and the glory. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. Our radio programming is set for 2025. We will cover 44 of the 66 books of the Bible using the Ezra Project day by day through the Bible 11 book series. We start at January 1 with the writings of the Old Testament historical books beginning with Job. We will cover seven more historical books until spring when we jump into the New Testament writings of Mark, Peter, James, Jude, and Hebrews. By summer, we will go back to the Old Testament writings of all 13 of the minor prophets. We'll finish 2025 with the writings of Paul. Maybe you don't want to follow the Ad Bible Radio programming in your daily quiet time. Okay, I offer you an alternative plan. Read the Bible chronologically starting any day you want. The Bible is not organized the way things occurred. You can order an Ezra Project Chronological Bible Reading Journal and experience an amazing journey through the Bible in the order things actually occurred. The first time I read the Bible chronologically, it was an aha experience. While reading Kings and Chronicles, I read the prophets who were alive at the time. In the New Testament, you read about a miracle or a parable by all four gospel writers on the same day. It was a very educational and inspiring way to read the Bible. One user said this about our chronological Bible reading journal. Some years ago, I used a couple of spiral notebooks for my journaling. I've attached pictures of the book, the first edition of the Ezra Project Bible Reading Chronological Journal. That was the picture he sent. I live in Phoenix now, and I cannot find any place that has this type of journal. I've used many types of journals recently, but this seems to work the best for my needs. Please let me know if these are still available. Yes, they are. In fact, it is our number one best-selling product of all time. Visit azureproject.net and order a chronological Bible reading journal today and start your chronological journey through the Bible. 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In this enlightening episode of Call to Freedom, hosts Barbara and Kimberly dive deep into the timeless story of Job, exploring themes of suffering, divine justice, and the human inclination to assign blame. By examining Job's trials and the unhelpful counsel of his friends, the discussion illuminates the mistaken belief that hardship is always a direct consequence of wrongdoing. The conversation encourages listeners to embrace a more nuanced understanding of life's challenges, recognizing the brokenness of the world and the strength found in divine promises. Listeners are taken on a journey of perspective-shifting as the hosts advocate for finding beauty in the ashes, leaning into God's superior wisdom, and breaking free from the constraints of pride and self-righteousness. With personal anecdotes and scriptural references, the episode resonates deeply, reminding us that God's love and guidance are ever-present, even in the midst of overwhelming trials. Through stories of real-life resilience and biblical insights, this episode offers a comforting reminder that God's grace is indeed sufficient for every heartache and struggle.
SPEAKER 01 :
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 Power 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.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome to Call to Freedom. And you can call that number 1-877-917-7256 anytime, day or night. And I've gotten them at night. But I don't usually get my messages until the next day. So don't expect for me to call after 7 o'clock at night because I'm out of the office. I am home, usually eating. So thank you so much for your wonderful attention to this program every day. I appreciate you so much. And you're praying for Call to Freedom and also you're giving into the ministry. I appreciate that so much. If God is for us, who can be against us? God who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also along with him, along with the Lord Jesus Christ, graciously give us all things? Oh, I love that. We know Romans 8.31. If God is for us, who can be against us? I hear it all the time. But how many of us know God who did not spare his own son, his beloved son, his most prized child? gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with Jesus, graciously give us all things? And that's what he's promised to us. And if you believe, if you believe, you will receive what God has promised for you. Oh, what a blessing it is to know that. Oh, I'm so happy to know that God is for us and he is not against us. And Kimberly, I know that you have a great program today, so I'm going to let you go.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, you're right that he is for us and not against us. And we just have our own ideas of what life is going to look like. And we have our own goals and we think they are the best. We just think that way as human beings. And we forget that he existed before we did, that he has better ideas than we do. That's right. And I was reading in Job today, and Job, his friends, they just weren't very helpful. Job was really suffering. He was feeling just very confused. There was so much loss. And Job's name, I had never looked that up before, but today I looked up the meaning of Job in Hebrew, and it means persecuted or he who weeps. So someone who is feeling persecuted, someone who's feeling grief, here's Job. He's confused. He doesn't know why any of this happened because... he does believe in his heart that he has remained close to God, that he has done no wrong. And he was trying to explain that and just say out loud, I know that I haven't done anything wrong. Well, There's kind of an overall idea that all of us in religion in general, it can be all religions, we have this idea that when we've done something wrong, we're gonna be punished. When we've done something wrong, there's gonna be consequences. We all have this overlying idea of that. Job was simply saying, I know that my heart is right and I'm still experiencing this suffering and this grieving. And so this world is so broken that we know we can experience that brokenness even if we haven't done anything terrible. And that is simply what Job was talking about. Well, Bildad and Eliphaz and Zophar, those friends, I am putting quotes around the word friends, you know, and they were good friends. Let's be kind to them because they sat with him for seven days just in the ash heap. You know, they did sit with him without saying anything at all, just listening to him, just sitting with him, being with him. When they did finally speak up, they took that position that you must have done something wrong for this to happen to you. They were thinking in the place of retribution, you know, like there's a retributive justice kind of a... If you've done something really bad, then your consequences are going to be really bad. You must have done something really bad, Jobe.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, don't we believe that now, today? We hear that from people. Well, you know, he got in this accident. He was always prone to do that. Or, you know, did you hear he has cancer? What did he do to deserve cancer? So we all are still in that kind of mode. Accident, consequences, that kind of thing.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right. I think that's why I wanted to talk about it, because this beautiful story of Job is actually pointing out that we don't have to do anything wrong to experience the brokenness in this world. This world is broken, and we are going to experience that brokenness in one way or the other. And we might form our own opinions on how we're going to handle that. When we form those opinions, we take a position on something, right? And that's what was happening with Job's friends. Each one had a position that they were holding to. And Zophar, I think, was maybe the one that was harshest. He was the harshest friend, just really rebuking Job. And in the end, God rebukes all of those friends and said, none of you were speaking rightly. So the position that they took, the position they held that you must have done something wrong. Therefore, you are now experiencing these consequences. Now you have to suffer because you did something bad. God rebuked that and said that wasn't right. I think we all need to go ahead and just embrace that. You know, just look at that and say, oh, God was rebuking that. Yes. And he alone is right. God is looking for relationship. And Elihu, Elihu was the young one who stayed quiet the whole time until the very end. And his name, Elihu, means my God is he or he is my God. Yeah. And he started speaking rightly of God, that God alone is righteous, that God is superior to man. So God's ideas and the way his perspective, the way that he thinks is superior to ours. We might be thinking in rights and wrongs and justice and whatever we see as being a consequence or a punishment for something. Those are our ideas. God wants relationship. And he alone has the right perspective. He alone is the one who can educate us on what relationship really looks like. It's not just a bunch of rights and wrongs and consequences and punishments.
SPEAKER 03 :
And yet, today, Kimberly, we see people who, if something terrible happens, they blame God. They don't see an enemy. They don't see Satan who is trying to usurp everything from out from under us. It's like a story I heard about North Carolina, the flood region of North Carolina. This one man who lost his home, he lost his son in the flood, and he just, I give up. There is no God anymore. And he had been a churchgoer until he saw the orange shirts coming down the road where his house used to be and taking all of the junk and everything out of there so that they could rebuild. Then he realized there is a God. We've got to realize there's an enemy there. who is out to get us, steal and destroy from us. And I don't believe that Job gave that a moment of thought in his life that, you know, Satan is doing this. In fact, I copied what you're talking about in Job 33. It says, God is picking a quarrel with me and he considers me his enemy in verse 10. And so Job didn't consider Satan, who was the one who was responsible for all that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right, right. Yeah, you're right. Many times we do not consider. We just look to God and say, why would you allow this to happen? If you are a good God, if you are a loving God, why would you allow this? And you're right. Those questions come up. My friend Holly, who just recently lost her husband, and I know some of you have heard me talking about her. She has been such an inspiration to me. And she's so honest and transparent. She's just so authentic in her anger the first couple of days. You know, she was really blaming God. And yet she put that anger in check. She chose to put it in check and to believe that God had something better for her. And just recently I had a conversation with her. She was telling me how she's walking through the house now and all the things that they had bought for Gary, for her husband, all those things that are sitting there, every subscription he's had. and the puzzles that they bought for him to do, and the medications that were brand new, and the different foods they were going to try. She's looking at all of it now and realizing, I don't need any of this. And she had this temptation to hold onto some of it, but very quickly realized that She was wanting to hold on to her beloved. She was wanting to hold on to the memory of her husband. But if she chose to hold on to these things, they were not him. trying to hang on to a routine or any of those things that were in the home was not hanging on to her beloved. It was, it was a lie. And she recognized it as a lie that she shouldn't be hanging on to the lie, but just looking forward. And she was so brave. She told me, I saw in that moment that I just need to sweep up these pieces and put them away. Put them all away. Yes. Yes. How brave. I saw her resigning. And I know resignation can hold kind of a negative context, but I saw it as a sweet surrender, kind of resigning. Like it was a resignation to, okay, life is different now. And I'm going to resign my position that I had before. I'm going to resign that routine and all of the things that were attached to that routine. I'm just going to resign them over to the Lord. Yes. And let him take precedence.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's like that song that Evie used to sing. Give them all. Give them all. Give them all to Jesus. Shattered dreams, wounded hearts and broken toys. Yeah. A beautiful song. Yes. It is beautiful. Yes. So we've got to really listen to the Lord, especially when we've gone through loss. Okay, Lord, what do you want me to do? Yes, what do we do now? What do we do now? two or three on one side and two on the other side and were in arms against each other. That must have been a terrific, traumatic time for you, Kimberly.
SPEAKER 02 :
It was difficult. It was very confusing. And there was a lot of grieving, really. And in the middle of those ashes, because that's what it looks like. It just looks like something got blown up and there's just a bunch of ashes left. Yes. In the middle of the ashes, we have a choice. Are we going to stay focused on the ashes? Are we going to stay focused on our self-pity? Grieving is good, but if we let it go so long that it becomes self-pity, and then you just get stuck in that cycle of pity, poor me, poor me, that's not good anymore. No. And are we going to be angry and let that anger? We can be angry. That's not a sin, but we can sin in our anger by letting it become rage, hurting other people with it, by letting it become resentment and bitterness and having a root of bitterness in our lives. We don't want anger to become that. That's when it becomes sin. And what are we going to focus on? Are we going to focus on the ashes and all of the feelings that come with loss and in the brokenness? Or are we going to choose to believe that there's beauty? God promised us beauty for ashes. And that's in Isaiah 61. When we choose to believe that God's promise is never going to be broken because he's not a man that breaks promises. He's not a man, he's God. He does not break his promises. And he told us he's got beauty for ashes. We just have to look up. We've got to look to him and see the beauty. Are we gonna choose that? What am I gonna do in the middle of this loss? Am I gonna stay focused on the ashes or am I going to choose the beauty? I love what Corrie Ten Boom had to say, that there is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still. I love it. Yes. That is God's beauty going down to the deepest, darkest places of our lives. And he is the one who knows how to work all things together for good. I know we say it a lot. We're going to keep saying it until we all get on board and believe. that God is at work to make things beautiful in our lives. One of Corrie Ten Boom's stories is about all these fleas in their housing, in the barracks. There were fleas that infested every bed and every person that lived in that place. And they were all getting welts and they were itchy. And the soldiers, the way they handled it was just to shave everybody. And so those precious women had all their heads shaved. It was just a horrible, I know it was horrible. It was an ash heap. We were looking at brokenness and ashes. And Corrie was just so fed up and hated the fleas and was mad. She was mad. And her sister Betsy said, we need to thank God for these fleas. We need to thank God. We need to see the beauty of the fleas. They didn't see it right away. But turns out that their particular barracks, their place was the only one that the soldiers never went into. So everybody would crowd in there to have devotions and to read the word of the Lord and to sing worship songs. But the soldiers never went in to bother them or stop them.
SPEAKER 03 :
I know.
SPEAKER 02 :
And the reason why was the fleas. The soldiers did not want to go in there.
SPEAKER 03 :
So sometimes we must endure some real discomfort, Kimberly, in this life, knowing that God knows the plan that is ahead and He provides the light in our Lord Jesus to bring us into the light again.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, I like picturing Corrie Ten Boom resigning her position on the fleas. Okay, let me resign here. Let me take your position, God. And let me say thank you. Let me have a heart of gratitude. And we can do that in every situation. Our circumstances truly are transformed when we choose to view them differently, when we choose a new perspective. So if we come to a conclusion that our new boss at work or our new pastor in our church is immature and we need to get rid of them, you know, if the boss were thinking, no, we just can't work with that person or we cannot work with this pastor. we have got to remember they are there because God is on the throne. God allows these movements in life, you know, and he knows what to do with them. And if it is a broken person that needs to move on, we need to take that to the Lord first, not come to our own conclusion. When we come to our own conclusions, wow, I was talking with a, I consider her a friend. She goes to my church and she is not happy with the pastor. And she started telling me all the reasons she wasn't happy with the pastor. And I knew that if I walked away from her, I was just gonna let her drown in her own opinions. I don't want to let my friends drown in their opinions. I want to help. So I was asking Holy Spirit, what would you have me say right now? What do you want her to hear? And he reminded me of the story in 2 Chronicles 20. and how there was war going on. And Jehoshaphat had gone before the Lord and spread out all of the other Kings, the enemies, all of their rantings and their threats toward Israel. He spread that out before the Lord and said, God, we don't know what to do. We are too weak, but you know, you know, Every time we do that, our Father comes through for us. Every time. And so I said to my friend, don't forget that when you feel like there's a war going on, our Heavenly Father sends out the praisers, the ones who will worship him. He sends them out first. And that's what happened with Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. Oh, if it's been a while since you've read it, pick it up and read it today. It's such a good story. In that chapter, we are looking at Israel who really feels trapped. But when the king consulted and took counsel with the people, he appointed them and that they should sing unto the Lord and praise the beauty of holiness. That's the revised standard version of second Chronicles 20 verse 21. He sent the people out to sing unto the Lord and praise the beauty of holiness. And they went out before the army. Yeah. And they said, give thanks to the Lord for his mercy endures forever. That can be us in every situation. And so when I told my friend, don't forget that the worshipers, the praisers go out before the war, before the soldiers. And she's at this place right now where she just said to me, oh, no, no, no, we're not on the same page. We really just need to get this pastor out. And I was thinking to myself, wow, we really aren't on the same page.
SPEAKER 1 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 02 :
It's time to resign our position. We need to resign and get on the same page with who our God is and what he tells us to do and how he wants to lead and guide. He has something really perfect for us in the middle of our situation that seems imperfect.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, and sometimes all it takes is one person, Kimberly. It's like, I'm going to go back in the 20th chapter here. to verse 14 all the people were standing before jehoshaphat king jehoshaphat and they were probably weeping and crying and all the emotions were being seen and the spirit of the lord came upon jahaziel the son of zachariah and he said listen all judah and inhabitants the lord god says do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude for the battle is not yours but god's And they listened to this one man, Kimberly. That's how one person can change the hearts. If he's got some ungodliness in his heart, he can change a whole crowd of people against the leader, or he can change a whole crowd for the leader. So we've got to listen to the right words from the right people. And God gave him a plan, and then Jehoshaphat went to prayer. Oh, this is one of my favorite chapters. It's just so good about praise. You know, Psalm 22, verse 3 says, God inhabits the praises of his people. He lives there in our presence. He doesn't live in our complaints. He doesn't live in our, you know, greediness and grumpiness. No, he lives in our praises. That's so good.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. Yes. Going back to Job 33, where we started out. The young man, Elihu, And His name means, let me say it again, He is my God, or my God is He. When we choose to look at how supernatural our God can work things out, He's not limited to our natural realm here. So He can take a situation and work it out supernaturally. Our worship and our praise will come alongside that, and it'll cause it to happen faster. So what you're talking about there in chapter 20 of 2 Chronicles, that is a bunch of people who could have turned against... the Lord and blamed him and said, why would you put us in this position? But instead they start praising and worshiping and quickly that enemy was defeated very quickly. They were routed, you know, that's, that's what we want to see. We want to see that our God can turn something so miraculously. And in Job 33 verse 17, we see God is the one who turns man from his wrongdoing. It's not about us turning to God and saying, you've done me wrong. No, no. God is the one that turns us from our opinions and our wrongdoing. And he keeps us from pride. He cuts pride off of us. Pride is the one that would stand up in the way and take a position and say, I know I'm right. I know it needs to be done this way. But God is the one who's constantly working to get us away from that pride so that we can turn toward Him.
SPEAKER 03 :
turned back to him we were made for him not for our reckless choices yes and they are reckless choices that we may are if one person could really uh complain about his situation it's paul the apostle he you know he went through beatings he went through scourgings he went through stonings he went through being in the ocean or the mediterranean sea for so many days And he could have said, I'm through. I'm done. This is it. I'm over. I'm through with this. Instead, he just said, my God delivered me out of all of this. I'm so glad he gave that in 2 Corinthians. He really described what he had been through physically. And he says, my God delivered me from this. So when we have the right attitude, Kimberly, it's just so important that
SPEAKER 02 :
It is. We can declare that God's grace is enough. His supernatural grace in our circumstances is enough. It's more than enough. And just to finish out with Job 33 in verses 27 through 30. It says that the man who has been saved from his reckless ways, because God, God did that. God pulled him out of those reckless ways and showed him the truth. That man looks upon other men and sings out to them. He says to them, I have sinned and perverted what was right. And it did not profit me yet. God did not. requite me according to my iniquity. Instead, he redeemed my life from going down to the pit.
SPEAKER 03 :
There is so much here in this chapter. You bring out singular chapters, Kimberly, and I go home and I'm studying them. Wow, this is so good. And we've got to go back. I hope you can come tomorrow because we've got to go back into Job 33 and talk about people that hear from God, people that are on their deathbed or their sickbed and how God delivers them up out of it. So I hope you'll join me again tomorrow. I look forward to it. Thank you. God bless all of you listening. I hope you receive something from this. Oh, take joy, my friend. Take joy.
SPEAKER 01 :
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 partners 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 praise reports and heart cries by mailing them to Call to Freedom, Box 370-367, Denver, Colorado, 80237. Or you may email us at barbracarmack at freedomstreet.org. Until next time, remember, Jesus loves you, Barbara loves you, and take joy.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.