Join Barbara Carmack as she navigates the wonders of divine provision and the strength found in trust. In this episode, witness a personal story of unexpected assistance on a windy day, leading to profound insights about relying on God. Delve into an encouraging message from Proverbs about placing all your heart into the Lord’s hands and experience a stronger connection through shared faith and hope.
00:26:41 Concluding Thoughts on Judgement and Peace
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 :
Welcome to Calda Freedom. May this day reveal God’s love for you as you walk in the blessings he gives and enjoy the fullness of his joy. I know as I was coming into the building and there’s a huge parking lot and then a garage and the wind is so strong. I mean, we’re talking strong. If Mocha were here, it would have lifted her up off the ground. So I went into the garage, and it is more pleasant there. When you get out of your car, you’re not blown away. And so as I got out of the door, he actually told me to go up between cars so that the wind wouldn’t blow me over on this sidewalk that goes up to the doors. And then I got to the door of the pavilion, which is a 12-story building, and I couldn’t open it. And here came this young man with muscles. Yeah. I mean, God always provides. He really does. When you say, all right, Lord, I am. I’m believing in you. I’m trusting you. And so he opened the door for me and then he came up to the 12th floor, but he went to another suite. So I praise God for his provision in every situation. Depend on God. Trust him. That’s what Proverbs 3, 5 says. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Not part of it. all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. I could have said, well, I’d better just call Rachel and tell her I won’t be up to the studio today. I’ll just go home and just be in my home. No, I felt like Kimberly and I had a message for you today, an encouraging message. because we need to be encouraged by one another. That’s how we lift up the body. Oh, God bless you. You are blessed to dispense, for in him you live and move and have your being. I’ve got to say, the Lord willing, these days are so different. The Lord willing, we’re going to have a meeting on Saturday. And that’s why it says in James, the Lord willing, I will go to this town or that town because we don’t know anymore. It’s just so uncertain and unpredictable. But the Lord willing, we will have a meeting this Saturday, March the 14th, brunch at 930 and the call to freedom meeting at 11 o’clock with choruses and a good Bible study about victory, victory. And if you’d like to make a reservation for the restaurant, call me at 1-877-917-7256. And before Kimberly comes on, I want to remind you of the memory verse we had this week, Isaiah 61, verse 11 in the Amplified. So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations through the self-fulfilling power of the word. Don’t get fearful over what the nations are doing and over what Iran is doing and what they’re promising. They’re going to close all the straits and the oil is going to go up. Don’t panic. Don’t be afraid. The message translation of Isaiah 61 11 is just my favorite. I will sing for joy in God, explode in praise from deep in my soul. He dressed me up in a suit of salvation. He outfitted me in a robe of righteousness as a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride, a jeweled tiara. For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers and as a garden cascades with blossoms, so the Master God brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before all the nations. It’s God who’s doing it, friend. It really is. So I want you to begin to say, Lord, in you I live and move and have my being. I give you all of my life. All that it is, I give it to you, Lord. Well, welcome, Kimberly.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you. Oh, what a great way to be reminded of not being in fear, but truly trusting. We can trust our Lord. He knows what he’s doing. And I find it interesting. You told me earlier today that you had St. Francis of Assisi on your mind.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s right, yes. Well, I was waking up this morning, and that’s probably the best time when the Lord can talk to you when you’re still kind of asleep, but you’re not all the way awake and thinking about all the stuff you have to do for the day. And so right then, I was thinking of your scripture in Psalm 42. Why are you in despair, O my soul? Hope in God. And hope, it just sprung up in my heart. St. Francis of Assisi. Oh, it’s a beautiful, beautiful poem. It’s beautiful.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, go ahead and read that. I’d love to just start out with that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, good. And I’ll have to tell you, when I said, you know, that’s your dad’s middle name. And he said, well, Mom, he was named for St. Francis. And I said, well, it was the hospital in South Chicago. And she said, well, guess what the hospital’s name was named after? Immediately, a bulb goes on after 60 years of being reminded of your father’s love and commitment. Oh, my goodness. Here’s the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to comfort, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Well, I guess we could just end the program after that. Yeah, that’s beautiful. And we realize… You think, wow, when did he live? And I was shocked. It was 1181 to 1226. And you reminded me that he was 45 years old. Some of these great people, Kimberly, don’t live long lives. Short years.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Yeah, they’re powerful packages.
SPEAKER 02 :
Powerful. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
only need a short amount of time to make a difference on this world. And yeah, we’ve been talking about how Jesus asked, who do you say that I am? And St. Francis, his prayer, this Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Jesus is peace. And where there is hatred, let me sow love. That is what Jesus did. He sowed love. Where there was injury, he pardoned. He pardoned every person that injured him and betrayed him and rejected him. He pardoned them all. He said, Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing. So when we are looking at our situations in life, It is important that we ask ourselves, who do you say that Jesus is? Who do you think he is? And how do you fit into his plan? He has a plan and you are very much a part of that plan. You’re not just part of it. You are the plan. We need to remember we’re the plan. We are the plan. I saw a sign at Cracker Barrel. It said, when I say I love you more, I’m not going to read all of it, but it says, when I say I love you more, I don’t mean that I love you more than you love me. It means I love you more than all of our misunderstandings.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh.
SPEAKER 04 :
more than anything that could separate us. And that’s how we need to think of Jesus. We have misunderstandings. We get impatient. We might end up rejecting him in our own life. And he loves us more than all of that. That is the kind of measuring stick that he has. His grace much more abounds when our weaknesses, our insecurities, our fears, our failures abound. His grace and his love abound much more.
SPEAKER 03 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I think I already said this, but I’m just going to give the picture again. I think of our failures and our fears and our sins as a tiny little kayak on the ocean. And the ocean is his grace and his love. And that tiny little kayak is just the little tiny bit of our sins and our failures. But his grace, his ocean abounds much, much more. I think one of the most disturbing troubles for human beings is betrayal. King David, he knew betrayal. He had been betrayed quite a bit in his life. And Jesus was also acquainted with betrayal. People betrayed him. I think even his own family, they did not understand him. His own brothers, they were trying to shut him down at one point. I think they wanted to try to quiet him because he was causing such a stir.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. Some of his brothers wanted him to be institutionalized. They thought he was nuts.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
So in John 8… We have an example of a woman that is brought before Jesus And if we think about the context of this story, she must have felt very betrayed. She had sinned. They call her the adulterous woman. There’s no name given, but she’s the adulterous woman. She was dragged in front of a crowd. And it was announced to everyone around that she was caught in the very act of adultery. And they’re testing Jesus with her. They’re using her. As a test. And what shame. I don’t think you could be shamed any more than that. But here’s the thing. The last time I checked, the definition of adultery, it’s an action between two people, not just one. That’s right. That’s right. And in the law, both of them were supposed to be brought before the people and stoned. And so here they bring this woman and they say she was caught in the actual act of adultery, in the act, caught in the act. Well, okay, here’s the woman, where’s the man? The man should be standing right there with her. And Jesus sees the unfairness of the situation right away. It was an obvious setup to betray, to shame, to embarrass this woman and see what Jesus was going to do. The setup was really to see what Jesus would do with it. She was in trouble. And we’ve been talking about who you say Jesus is in your life. Who do you say that I am was one of his questions. And another question is, why are you so troubled?
SPEAKER 03 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, here’s a woman that was in trouble. She was caught. And the man was in trouble too. He just wasn’t present for this whole unfolding of a story. So why did she have to be the only one bearing the consequences? The law required that they both be stoned. And here Jesus is being tested with this. And he takes the attention off of her by telling all the men, Whoever, whichever one of you is without sin can throw the first stone. Well, he totally covered her. Yes. For this woman that is right there standing before everybody and being shamed. This question, who do you say that I am? Her answer would be, you’re my hero. You’re my deliverer. You’re my savior. You’re the one who had my back when the crowds were ready to stone me. The one who forgave my sin in front of everybody. And this passage is found in John 8. I actually just want to stay right here for a little bit because right after he rescues this woman, Jesus proclaims, I am the light of the world. He just forgave her. He asks her, where are your accusers? And she says, there’s no one, Lord. And he said, well, neither do I accuse you. I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more. So he knows that she has committed a sin, but he completely covers her, forgives her, and basically exonerates her in front of everyone. And then just mentions, don’t sin anymore. You don’t need that. I bet she didn’t. I bet she was so full of joy that she wouldn’t even want to go back to that. And Jesus then says, I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness. because you will have the light that leads to life.” And you know, some people, they get into adulterous situations because they’re looking for some more life. They need some excitement. They need something. So they’re looking for it. Jesus is saying right here, you do not have to walk in darkness. You can come to me and you will have light that leads to life. The Pharisees were upset and they replied to Jesus, You are making those claims about yourself. Such testimony is not valid. And Jesus told them, these claims are valid, even though I make them about myself, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you don’t know this about me. You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. He just proved that. He just proved that he doesn’t judge anyone because he did not judge that woman. He forgave her and she became a better person. I believe it. I believe she became a better person because of the forgiveness, not because of judgment. That’s right.
SPEAKER 02 :
What is that translation that you were just reading from John 8?
SPEAKER 04 :
The New Living Translation.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, that’s great.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow. Yeah, so he’s saying, I do not judge. You judge by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. And if I did, I love this. Jesus, he’s the one who has the right to judge us.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s right. He does.
SPEAKER 04 :
But he is saying, I do not judge anyone. And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The father who sent me is with me. Yes. He goes on in John 8 here to say, since you do not know who I am, you don’t know who my father is. If you knew me, you would also know my father. And really, he is talking about forgiveness right here. He is talking about compassion, mercy, love. And he’s saying, you don’t know any of that. You do not know my father’s heart. My father’s heart is compassionate, full of loving kindness and mercy, forgiveness. Full of forgiveness and pardon for a thousand generations, Exodus 34 tells us. So he is trying to get people to see the Father’s heart. And he is here. Jesus is here on earth at this time that we’re reading in John 8 here to show us the Father’s heart. He goes on to say, you are from below. He’s talking to the Pharisees and saying, you are from below, but I am from above. You belong to this world and I do not. Unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins. I have, oh, this is another great, great verse. This is John 8, verse 26. Jesus says, I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.” Wow. This is telling us that the truth that we’re looking for is not facts that we dig up so that we can bring a person to justice. That’s not truth. Jesus is truth. God is truth. He is complete truth. And the complete truth actually holds compassion and love and and mercy and forgiveness higher than judgment. And the word does tell us, I didn’t look up this reference, but the word tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment. Yes, it does. Good to remember that. Well, this really, this whole passage here, I think is important for us to look at when we’re considering who we say Jesus is. Jesus’ question to us is, who do you say that I am? Well, let’s make it kind of personal. Jesus, you are the one who knows how to resist the human tendency to judge. That’s what I say about you. To have expectations. You, Jesus, have expectations and dreams and goals, but you lay them down for the Father’s dreams and goals. And I just want Jesus to make me like him. Make me like you. Who do you say that I am? Jesus is asking, and I am saying, you’re the one who can make me like you, even though that sounds impossible. If we take some of these passages that I’ve been reading from John 8, let’s look at verses 10 and 11. He’s asking the woman that was brought before him, Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you? And she says, No one, Lord. And Jesus says, Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more. Now let’s ask ourselves, who do you say Jesus is? And Jesus, I say you are the one who does not judge or condemn. When we are exposed in our darkest places and we’re shamed in front of others, you cover and forgive us. That’s who I say you are. And we can keep going with that same idea. Who do you say that I am? Jesus is asking. Well, we can say you are the firstborn light of the world, Jesus, and you are inviting us to follow you, to become like you in the way that we cover and forgive others, allowing the Father to be the one to judge rightly and bring his righteousness and truth through grace and mercy or any way that he may choose. Only he can be trusted, not human ways. And this can be seen with John 8, verse 12, when Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. So he’s saying that if we become like him, we will not walk in darkness. We’ll have the light of life. He’s the firstborn light of the world, and we are now the light of the world as well.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
We find in John 8, Kimberly, in the 28th verse, oh, this is such a great chapter. It’s revealing not only who Jesus is, but God the Father. And he says, I do not do anything on my own initiative. But I speak these things the Father taught me. I realize just now as you’re speaking and teaching us that Jesus was in the dying process before he got to the cross. We always think of Jesus dying on the cross, but he was in the process of laying down his life. for us before the cross. And that’s that process that we need to initiate into our own lives. It’s not something that happens just instantly like when salvation comes into our heart, but it’s something that on our journey that keeps us in a, we’re in a perfect stance with Jesus, but we’re in a state of continually changing and becoming pure and holier than like God.
SPEAKER 04 :
That happens by laying ourselves down, and that is a dying process. Our self and our self-nature, our ego and our selfishness have to be laid down and they need to die. When we die to ourselves, we live to Christ. And we look to him and we become someone different instead of being selfish and instead of being demanding. And he really was saying that in verse 26. I have much to say about you and much to condemn. This is Jesus. But he’s saying, I’m dying to that. I’m laying myself down. I won’t condemn you.
SPEAKER 02 :
I’m laying down. I won’t do it. That’s right. Absolutely. It’s that wonderful phrase that we hear from the chosen, get used to different. And some people just don’t want to change. They love the comfortable. They love the lifestyle. And we’ve got to get used to different every day. We’re different in a different way.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, you know. Comfortable is also perspective. Comfort is just what we’re used to. It might not even be healthy. We might even want it to change, but we keep going back to the same old pathways, old habits, old routines that keep us unhealthy. And that’s just part of our human nature. So it’s up to us to say, I do not want this anymore. God, will you help me? Mm-hmm. And that is us reaching out. Who do you say that I am? Jesus wants to know. And if we call him Lord, then we need his help. He’s not expecting us to do it on our own. And I don’t think that’s very natural for a human being to ask for help in something that we think we should be handling on our own. We’re very independent creatures. And Jesus is showing us right here in these scriptures in John 8 how to say, you know what, I feel like I want to condemn you. I really want to judge you right now, but I won’t because God has not given me the permission to do that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Because he’s the way, the truth and the life. What an absolute sacrifice that is, Kimberly, when you know that you are the word of God and you’ve got to put that down for the moment because God is teaching people something else.
SPEAKER 04 :
And that’s right. That’s right. He’s showing his character and showing his heart in in compassion, in mercy, because mercy does triumph over judgment. Yes. And we can say that Jesus, because Jesus does not judge by human standards, then we learn not to judge or condemn anyone. And Jesus in John 3, 17 says this about himself. For God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. Oh. So now we, your people, should seek not to judge one another, but to seek for salvation for each other and to pray people into those places of salvation, into those places of having their eyes opened and their ears opened and that they would be pardoned also because they need that forgiveness. John 8, 15, you judge people. It says you people judge according to the flesh, but Jesus is not judging anyone.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s right. Oh, may we follow those principles, Kimberly, and say like St. Francis of Assisi, Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, not our rights, not that we’re perfect, but God, you are the perfect one. Thank you, Kimberly. God bless you. And God bless all of you listening. Be at peace and take joy.
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.
