In this illuminating episode of Call to Freedom, Barbara Carmack and her guest explore the profound questions Jesus asked during His time on Earth, encouraging listeners to delve into who Jesus is to them personally. Through engaging dialogue, they unravel the importance of these questions in forming our identity and shaping our path in life. By connecting with their faith, they challenge listeners to reflect on the significance of understanding one’s relationship with God.
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 04 :
Welcome to Calda Freedom. It is good to praise the Lord and make music to his name. Our Heavenly Father proclaims his love in the morning and his faithfulness at night. That’s for you. He proclaims his love in the morning to you and his faithfulness at night. And when you lay your head down on that pillow, you know that he will awaken you in the morning. Praise the Lord. That’s a wonderful promise and a wonderful assurance that we have in him. You are blessed to dispense for in him you live and move and have your being. And I want to remind you that we have a meeting on March the 14th. That’s the second Saturday. of the month and we will be meeting for brunch and also for the meeting so if you’re interested call me at one eight seven seven nine one seven seven two five six and we have a shortened newsletter but it is no not shortened it’s shortened on uh spotify but it’s lengthy on the website so thank you i’m sorry a new newsletter for march and i hope you’ve enjoyed it And if you’d like to look over some of the articles again, you just go to freedomstreet.org and you can click on that. Our memory verse for this week has been Psalm 27, verse 1. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? I fear no one, Lord. The Lord is the defense of my life. Of whom shall I dread? Sometimes our greatest fear is us. Yeah. Sometimes I’m afraid of me more than anybody else around me. Passion, I love this translation of 27, 1 through 4. And this is David’s praise to God as anointed king. Yahweh is my revelation light, the source of my salvation. I fear no one. I’ll never turn back and run for you, Yahweh. surround and protect me when evil ones come to destroy me they will be the ones who turn back my heart will not fear even if an army rises to attack i will not be shaken even if war is imminent here’s the one thing i crave from yahweh one thing Oh, one thing, the one thing I seek above all else, I want to live with him every moment in his house, beholding the marvelous beauty of Yahweh, filled with awe, delighting in his glory and grace. Isn’t that beautiful? Oh, it’s so wonderful to know that. And Kimberly, thank you for joining us today.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, I’m just going to make one more note about the newsletter. It’s shortened if it comes to your email. So if you have gone to our website and you have signed up to receive the newsletter directly to your email, that is uh that’s something that you can you can do now instead of receiving the newsletter by mail snail mail on paper you can receive it digitally to your email and if you have signed up to do that it’s shortened a little bit in your email but you can always click on read more and when you click read more then it will take you directly to the website and you can see the whole newsletter
SPEAKER 04 :
I understand what you say about snail mail, but the post office has been very faithful in getting all of the, over years, newsletters. And some of the people in the Denver area get it the very next day. So, yeah. So, I know.
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We’re so used to instant.
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No disrespect to that. Yeah. Instant, instant, this, instant, that. I expect instant, instant. Yeah. I know that.
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Right. Well, and then some people just really prefer not using as much paper, and I can understand that, too.
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I use reams, yes, reams. And a ream is 500 sheets, so I just ordered another 1,000, yeah.
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I know. And you have been so diligent to send out that newsletter to make sure that it and you do the printing yourself. You do the printing. You do the labels. You stick the labels on to each envelope and you put it all together and stuff those envelopes and put the stamps on it. And I lick them. No, you don’t always lick them. I don’t always. You use that sponge.
SPEAKER 04 :
I use the sponge, yes. But, yeah, it is kind of a weekend project. When I’m ready to do the newsletter, I’m usually saying, okay, Saturday and Sunday, it’s the newsletter. And it’s been such a pleasure, Kimberly, such an honor all over these years. Well, you’ve been really faithful with that. Very faithful. Well, I’ll tell you, the power partners that give to Call to Freedom, they have been the faithful ones. Yeah. Thank you for allowing me to indulge in compliments and confirmation that our power partners are wonderful. They’re beautiful. Praise the Lord.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you. Yes. Well, we are talking about Jesus and all the questions that he asked when he was here on this earth and how important those questions are. I have not researched this myself, but I read that a pastor counted all of the questions Jesus asked. Yeah. Okay. The ones that are recorded in the four gospels. And he found over 300 recorded in the four gospels. Goodness. Yeah. Over 300 questions that Jesus asked.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. Right. See, that’s one thing that Darren’s dad said of him when he was a little boy. You are such a question box. Everything that comes out of your mouth is a question. And I’m so glad because Darren really found the heart of God. And so that’s what we need to do. We need to question just like Jesus did.
SPEAKER 03 :
Keep asking questions. Keep asking questions. Yes. So there is one question that Jesus asked, and you can find it in Matthew 16, 15. It says, who do you say that I am? That’s his question. Who do you say that I am? And I think a lot of us might wonder, well, okay, who do I think Jesus is? Or, yeah, who is Jesus? Who is Jesus? But I like to personalize this question and ask, who is Jesus to me? Who are you to me in relationship to me? How do you affect my life, Jesus? That’s how I like to ask that question. So I would just challenge you today, if you’re listening today, ask the question in a very personal way. Jesus, who are you to me in my life and the way that I’m walking through life? I believe that when you ask the question in a very personal way, in an intimate way, then it becomes the most important question of all the questions that Jesus asked. And the reason why I say that, and don’t misunderstand me, I do believe that all of Jesus’ questions are important. But this one question, it resonates with an expectation of more. It tugs at the threads of our heart to let us know that there’s more to who we are because there’s more to who He is and who we think He is. Amen. Yeah, and really just a little side note, I appreciate the fact that Jesus came to this earth asking questions when he knows all the answers. He’s asking us to participate in relationship with him as we uncover hidden places in our own hearts to answer those questions.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes. Don’t you think that, oh, I would love to have a video of Jesus standing there at the age of 12 talking to the scholars, the scholars that had memorized so much of the Old Testament. And he was there three days with them. Yes. He had a captive audience, I’m sure, Kimberly. And he knew the answers to all their questions at 12 years of age. Because he is the son of God, even though he did not start his ministry for another seven years. But what a blessing.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, right. Yeah, it was another 18 years before he started his ministry. Oh, 18. Yeah, I’m sorry. I was thinking 20. Yeah, the fact that he, at 12 years old, spent three days with other people in that synagogue, he was probably asking a lot of questions just to get them thinking. Yes, absolutely, yes. But then he had the answer to all of them. And their questions, too. That’s really fun to imagine that. It is, yes. Well, this one question that we’re talking about today, who do you say that I am? Jesus asked that question to his disciples. Who do you say that I am? And I believe it’s the one question that could help us, all of us, answer other questions in life, all the other questions in life. Because if we sit with this question and meditate on it, it’ll lead us to identity, our identity, because our identity is found in him. So who we think he is to us is really important in finding our identity. Yes. Identity is I think you worded it this way earlier, mom. You said it’s the reality of your life, the reality that is your life. That’s your identity. Yes. Knowing your identity involves our behavior and all of our interactions, because if we know our identity, then we might be more calm and more peaceful when approaching situations. But if we don’t know our identity and who we are to God, who he is to us, then we’re going to panic in situations in life and we’re going to feel insecure and we will feel anxiety and stress and we will get angry and we will feel fear. So identity is what roots us and anchors us and grounds us to who we really are and who Jesus really is.
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Yes, we were talking today about the seasons of our lives. And I remember talking to you, Kimberly, about Charlie Kirk bringing out a new book about the Sabbath. And at first I said, I didn’t think of his age. I don’t know why, but I didn’t think he’s only 31. And we’ve gone through the Sabbath. I’ve gone through the Sabbath and definitions and controversies for 50 years. So I know a little bit about the Sabbath and in the season of his early life in the Lord. Yes, he needs to recognize the Sabbath that was established for our rest. God said on the seventh, then you are celebrating the Sabbath and you’re resting on that day. And so Charlie took that full board. He on one day of the week, he spent time with his family. He didn’t have any of the social media, his phone. I don’t even know if his phone was on.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, he used to put it in a drawer. In fact, he and Erica both would put it in a drawer for that day.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes. So that was the season and is the season of Erica’s life. And for some of us who have been in this wonderful season of journey with Jesus, we have gone to different seasons. And I realize now that the Sabbath, the real rest, is what Jesus said in Matthew 11, 28. And he said, take my yoke upon me on you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart and I will give you rest. So when we give Jesus the the wonderful focus every day of our lives and communicate with him every day, that’s our Sabbath. And we enter into that rest with him. So we’re at different seasons. I’m so glad you used that word seasons today when we were talking because, whoa, that was kind of a revelation for me. Yes, we’re all in different seasons of our journeys. Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
I’m glad you brought that up. Yeah, because Sabbath really means relationships.
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Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. Relationship with God in a way that brings you rest because you finally know him. Yes. And I think that’s why this question today that we’re talking about, who do you say that I am? What are you really thinking about God? Who do you say he is? Are you thinking that he’s a God that just flung all of this out here and now he’s just observing and he doesn’t really want to participate in it, but he just is watching the whole process? Or do you think he is intimately involved in everything that you do? So those are two extremes. I mean, one is just observing without any interest of any personal things. And the other is personally involved with… We were talking about how I lost my glasses for just a few moments, but they were sitting right on my leg. And here’s the interesting part to me. I have a white blanket on my lap. And my glasses are black. So the contrast is very seeable. But I could not see them. I didn’t see them for about 10 minutes. And I finally saw them. And what you said to me was, oh, it’s just proof that God wants us to rely on him for everything. Not our own ability to find our own glasses, but just rely on him. Ask him where they are. He’ll tell you where they are.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, that’s so good. I like imagining that maybe sometimes the angels, just to get my attention, will play hide and seek with me. Like maybe they really weren’t there on my lap.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, Kimberly, could we just take a few moments here to listen to Travis?
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SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, that’s good. And Kimberly, will you repeat what you were just saying before Travis came on?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I was just talking about how our Lord wants to be involved with every small thing of our lives. He’s not the kind of God that just created everything and flung us all here onto this earth and now is just watching to see how we all work it out in our own strength and our own ability. Wow. But he wants to be involved. And I was just mentioning how I had lost my glasses. My black glasses were sitting on my white, my white blanket. I mean, the contrast, I should have been able to see them. And I was looking all over for them and could not find them. And I sometimes think that angels are playing tricks with me just for fun. Yes. Just taking something for a moment, just saying, OK, let’s let’s get her attention. Let’s remind her that our God really loves her and he wants her to lean on him. Yes. Not herself. Yeah. So. This question that Jesus asked, who do you say that I am? When we start thinking about who God is to us, hopefully it’s drawing us closer to him and causing us to really meditate and to find our identity in him, in relationship to him. So if we take that question, who do you say that I am? And we put it with any of our other questions. And I’m just going to use some more questions that Jesus has asked. We might be continuing this for a few days, a few weeks, because Jesus asked so many questions. But I really want us to have an opportunity to think about who he says he is today. in relation to all the other questions. So one of the first recorded questions that’s found in the gospels is in John 1, 38. Jesus was walking and some disciples were following him and he turns and he says, what do you seek? In other versions, it says, what do you want? Or what are you looking for? Now, the disciples answered him by asking another question. Where are you staying? So that’s that’s fun that they replied with a question. They replied to a question with a question. But if we look at the question that Jesus first asked, what are you looking for? What do you seek? Make it personal. What are you looking for in life? What are you seeking in this life? And we all have different things that we’re looking for. We have different opinions on how we’re going to find what we’re looking for. So let’s just take the example. For some of us, we’re looking for a secure future. Some think of having a secure future as having investments that will provide during their retirement years. Others think of government programs that might help them or… They used to think of government programs. Maybe we don’t rely on that as much anymore, but that used to be a source that people would think of and go to. Others think of relationships with family members, like having a spouse or children that would provide in the future. So those are all different opinions, different ideas. of a way to provide for a secure future. Yes. Now, if you ask the original question of what Jesus says, who do you say that I am? If you ask yourself this question, who are you, Jesus? Who are you to me?
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s good.
SPEAKER 03 :
According to my future and the way that I want a secure future. Who are you? Who is Jesus to you? Do you think of Jesus as being God’s son? that he came to this earth to show us how to live with joy and with peace in this world. If you don’t believe that, maybe that’s one of the first steps that you need to take in finding joy and finding peace, finding a secure future. That provision that you want, that you’re desiring, it’s found in him. It’s found in knowing God. that he wants to provide, that he is good. Going back to the scripture that you mentioned from Matthew 11, Mom, you were saying that we can come to him when we are weary and heavy laden, we’re burdened with the stress of knowing that our future is secure. Come to Jesus and he will give you rest. Yes, yes. So maybe you need to believe that you’re not an accident. You did not just appear on this planet as a result of years of evolution. You were thought out. You are a miracle being, an expression of a most high God that’s longing for friendship. And you are the friend that he has thought about and longed for. Romans 8 29 and 30 tells us that he has predestined predestined you he thought about you beforehand he’s known you before time ever began and he chose you to become like him in his glory yes wow we need to believe that if we’re going to think that we’ll have a secure future yes Now, if we combine the truth of Romans 8, that we’re predestined, that we’re known before time ever began and chosen to become like him. If we combine that truth with what we are looking for in life, then we are living the way that Jesus taught us to live. And that way of living fulfills our every longing. We can then proclaim the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He is not going to let me go with an unsecure future. My future is secure in him. He will secure it for me and give me peace and give me joy. That’s what we want to be able to stand on and to be anchored in. That the Lord is my shepherd. I do not lack. I have lack of nothing in this world. Mm hmm. So here’s another way to look at it. Who is Jesus to you? This is the question that we’re asking. The same question, only now maybe we have a different thought path. So do you connect Jesus with God? Are Jesus and God one and the same to you? Who is Jesus to you? Yeah, the way Jesus said it is, who do you say that I am? Who do you say that Jesus is? Well, let’s go to 1 Kings 8, 27. This verse tells us that the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain God. So God is huge. God is so big, he cannot be contained in the largest expanse of the universe. And yet we see that he was contained in human flesh. He was fully contained in the human being of Jesus. in whom, well, he calls him his son, his son, Jesus. And that’s what we believe. Jesus is the son of God. This is the largeness of God. Maybe I could say the expanse of God is also confirmed in Second Chronicles 2.6. It says, who is able to build a temple for him since the heavens, even the highest heavens cannot contain him. That’s right. And Jeremiah 23, 24, it says the same thing. Well, a little bit different wording. Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him, declares the Lord. Do I not fill all of heaven and earth, declares the Lord. So if the Lord fills all of heaven and all of earth, if he cannot be contained in the highest heavens and all of the universe, then it can be a little bit confusing to think of him being contained in one human being, Jesus.
SPEAKER 04 :
That is really difficult for the average person who’s accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior and Lord and We think and see with our physical eyes, and that’s not the best thing to do when you’re thinking of God. Well, we try to make sense of him, and he doesn’t make sense. No, he doesn’t. He fills the whole universe, so how can he fit into me? And yet he has come to teach us and to guide us and direct us as we follow the Lord. So that’s right. So good. It is just so rich.
SPEAKER 03 :
So we don’t want to be forcing him into something that makes sense. I mean, well, if you think about it, is it worth even worshiping and following a God that you can make sense of? Yeah, it’s not. We we want him to blow our mind. That’s right. Amen. Yes. So God himself. came in the flesh and this is what John 1 1 through 2 tells us that in the beginning was the word the word was with God and the word was God he existed in the beginning with God and he came into this world that he created but the world did not recognize him yes Then in verse 14, it says, so the word became human and made his home among us. Yes, this is confirmation that the great God that we serve and worship did become human. all full human, fully God in human flesh. And this does blow our minds, but I know we’re going to have to stop for today and we can continue on this thought a little bit more tomorrow. How great is our God that he is too big for all of the heavens in the universe to contain, and yet he can be contained in one human. That would be you if you want him here.
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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.
