1.13.25 – Jesus is Not Threatened

SPEAKER 01 : 0:09

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 : 1:04

Welcome to Calda Freedom. God bless you for tuning in. I believe I have a lot of verses that you can stand on and maybe a verse or two that you can begin to memorize. Oh, may God pour out his blessings upon you. Love and kindness, joy and laughter. Oh, sometimes we just ache for laughter, don’t we? Peace and good things to come. And I’ll tell you, when things are looking bad and things aren’t going right in your life, I want you to know God is there. The world is changing there. In the last days, he warned us there is going to be more frequency of things happening and more intensity. And as we saw last week with the wildfires in Southern California, they never even imagined. ever, ever in their lives that they would be lost. They’re refugees right now. They’re like people that are fleeing from their country. They have no church, no grocery store, no post office. The friends that they had around them, they’re gone. The houses are gone. Oh, God bless them. I’m so grateful. I believe Samaritan’s Purse is there, and Samaritan’s Purse has been on the scene since the North Carolina hurricane. And I believe they’re really going to come in and help in the disaster areas. And I’m so grateful. I’m so grateful that I can be with you every day, Monday through Friday live. I’m so grateful that when I go through the rooms in my home, I’m just saying, thank you, Lord. Thank you for my bed, my comfortable bed. Thank you for the dishwasher, Lord. Thank you for the laundry, Lord. Thank you for all the things that you’ve given to me. I am so grateful, Lord. See, when we see other people suffering, I believe it’s a time when we begin thanking God. Oh, Father God, thank you so much. And then God will pour out his blessings upon you. If you’re just a grumbler, grumble on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, grumble on Thursday, too. If you’re just a grumbler, oh, it’s going to be hard for you, friend. It really is because people don’t like grumblers around them. And so we need to pray for the precious people in Southern California. And if you want to send, go to SamaritansPurse.org. That’s the organization. I wouldn’t be giving to Red Cross. I know they’re good, but you know your dollar is going to go to something good when you give to Samaritans Purse. So SamaritansPurse.org, that’s where you give. Praise the Lord. We just really need to be thankful, friends. Really thankful. Oh, I am so thankful. And we have a memory verse. Whatever you’re going through, I hope you can say with Job. And I’m in Job right now. As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. And at the last, he will take his stand on the earth. Isn’t that beautiful? In Job 19, 23 through 25. And this is Job speaking. If only my words were written in a book. Well, they are, Job. The words that you wrote, I believe that even Moses, I believe, wrote the words for the Bible. But the words that Job wrote down and his friends, they’re written in the Bible. And if only my words were written in a book, better yet, chiseled in stone, still I know that God lives, the one who gives me back my life. And eventually he’ll take his stand on the earth. I know that they were interviewing one lady who’d been in her home in Pacific Palisades since 1967, and that’s the year John and I were married, and then we left California soon after we were married. She was in that house for almost 60 years, and they went back. Her relatives went back to see if anything was left, and there was nothing left. So these precious people are just starting from… I don’t even know where. And I believe that the United States of America and all the people are going to join in, if not in prayer, in giving. So thank you so much for continuing to pray for them. Oh, Mission Possible by Tim Tebow. I love his little devotionals. In Mark 4, Jesus finished teaching a crowd. Then he gathered his disciples to go over to the other side of the lake. Now, that involves getting your things together and getting into a boat and starting on your way. And you’ve got to be prepared. But what happened? A great windstorm arose and verse 37 of Mark 4 says that frightened the disciples who were on the boat and they were greatly afraid. They went to get Jesus. When you’re afraid, who do you go to? They went to get Jesus. He was asleep. The disciples then woke a sleeping Jesus and he proceeded to rebuke the winds and the seas as the storm ceased. there was great calm oh praise the lord don’t you love it when you’ve been through a really hard difficult time and then you can take a breath and say father god you got me through it you got me through it instead of breathing a sigh of relief the disciples disciples excuse me were filled with great fear that’s verse 41 of mark 4. they were filled with great fear even though jesus was there why were they so afraid note the interesting sequence of events a great storm a great calm and great fear don’t let what’s happened to you linger and become a familiar spirit in your soul because that’s that can happen something that has been real traumatic you’re going to be absolutely paralyzed from doing anything from that point on of any fruitful endeavor Don’t allow that to happen because the enemy is trying to get you stuck, stuck in one place. And so they were fearful, even though a great calm came. Oh, and it’s time, folks, that we begin to depend entirely on Jesus. It’s a question that is a question the disciples had to ask for themselves more than 2000 years ago and not just once, but many times. And it’s one we must ask ourselves today. Why do we become afraid at a change of routine or a sudden occurrence or an expectation of not having what we have taken for granted today? For so long, going into a place where it used to be a grocery store, it’s no longer. Driving into a place that used to be beautiful homes along the Pacific Ocean, it’s no longer. It’s just smoke and ashes and ruins. I know that the Fox News reporter talked to one man in Altadena. He’s a coach on the high school football team, and they lost everything. They have four relatives, brothers and sisters that live in the same area. And as they went away, he was hoping that his sister would follow soon. Well, she didn’t appear, and she didn’t appear. And so three days later, they went to where they had lived, and her car was still in the driveway. And as they sifted through the ashes, they found her remains. So some people have gone through more than just loss of property and physical possessions. They’ve gone through loss of loved ones. So we need to remember that, friend. God, thank you. Lord God, thank you that you’ve kept us safe and healthy and strong in your word. At times I’ve reacted like the disciples and fear has overwhelmed me. Yeah, more times than not. Oh, it seemed like the floor went out from under me. Have you ever been in that situation where you just felt you were just falling, free falling? And that’s why I’m not really comfortable flying. There’s nothing under the plane traveling 30 or 40,000 feet above the terra firma. And when we were flying to San Antonio to see Lance get his commissioning, this was quite a while ago, he was going to be a lieutenant in the Air Force. And he later resigned as a full colonel. So he’s getting all that extra money that he deserves after being in the Air Force for so long. And as we were flying to San Antonio, all the oxygen masks dropped because the plane just dropped suddenly. I mean, even the airline attendants were grasping for seats because they didn’t realize it’s going to be such a sudden drop. And I was reading my Bible at the time, exactly at the moment that I was reading Psalm 94, verse 19. And I’ll never forget it. Are there some verses that you read and something happened and you’ll never forget that verse? And God gave me such assurance. And here it is, Psalm 94, verse 19. When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, thy consolations delight my soul.

SPEAKER 03 : 10:01

Hmm.

SPEAKER 02 : 10:03

That was such a blessing to me. And at that very moment, Darren took my hand. He was in the seat next to me and assured me that he was there for me. What a blessing to know now that our Lord Jesus is with us every step of the way. Whether we have a life partner on this earth or not, God will never leave us or forsake us. Hallelujah. That’s such a wonderful assurance for me. Every day as I wake up knowing that in him I live and move and have my being. Jesus has promised that he would be with us. That’s a promise that we can take to the bank. In fact, it’s better than a bank account or any savings we can accumulate. And I have never been on the end of having a huge bank account or accumulating a lot of earthly money. No, I never have. But God has always taken care of me, even in the financial area. In Colossians 1, 11-29… we see a wonderful description of Jesus through all these scriptures. Colossians 1 and Colossians 2 is centered in on Jesus as not only our Redeemer, but our High Priest and all that he is coming back soon. And here is Paul in a Roman prison telling us to be strong. Wow. Talk about impending doom. If you were in shackles in a dungeon, in the dark, and you didn’t know whether you were going to live another day or if they were going to come for you and you were going to die. He’s encouraging us to be strong. I want to be like that. No matter what is happening to me in the world, I want to be a strong representative of Jesus Christ telling you that he will never leave you, my friend. He never will. Well, let’s get started with Colossians 1. Paul is saying here, we pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul. Not the grim strength of gritting your teeth, but the glory strength God gives. And I know some of you have had TMJ because you’ve gritted your teeth so much that now you’ve got a problem with your jaw. But let’s just let God have his way with every part of our physical activity. and soulish bodies. That’s wonderful. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. God went on a rescue mission and rescued us from the dead in alleys and dark dungeons. He set us up in the kingdom of the sun he loved so much. The sun who got us out of the pit we were in and got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating. It reminds me that Saturday we sang a couple songs by Fanny Crosby at our meeting. And we had a delightful time. I always do. I always do. And I hope that everybody around me did, too. But Fanny Crosby talks so much about the light, the light of Jesus. And she’s totally blind. And she talks about the light of Jesus. How can you do that? Well, she knows the Lord and the light of Jesus Christ is in her. And she’s now with him. I was speaking to the people at the meeting. What do you suppose when she went up, when she died, she went up instantly to be with Jesus and she could see everything, every color, everything that was there in the heavenly welcoming her image. And my friend Mary says she probably wanted to see Jesus first of all. And I said, you’re right. You’re right. Praise the Lord. Verse 15 of Colossians 1 says, we look at this son and see the God who cannot be seen. Do you realize here that Jesus came so you could see God? Yes, Jesus, who is God in the flesh. We have never seen God. Nobody has ever seen God. He’s the wonderful spirit that created the whole universe and the worlds and everything in it. But he decided that he would come down as a human being to show us what he looks like. Because in the very first part of Genesis, it says we were created in his image and likeness. So we kind of know what he looks like. But Jesus gives us a wonderful description of who God really is. I love that. I love that perspective. We look at this son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels, everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And I’m used to reading this in the New American Standard. And here it is. For by him, this is Jesus Christ, all things were created. He is from the beginning. In the beginning, he was in John one, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things. And in him, all things hold together. Well, what do you know about that? My best friend, my best friend did all this. And there is still more to come. We ain’t seen nothing yet. Nothing. Nothing. In the 18th verse of Colossians 1, it says, And when it comes to the church, we are his church who believe in Jesus Christ. He organizes and holds it together like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and leading the resurrection parade. He is supreme in the end. From the beginning to end, he’s there towering far above everyone and everything. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without any crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe, people and things, animals and atoms, get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. And this is from the message. And I’d like to introduce you. to a little thing called laminins. And these are cells. It’s the substance and the glue that hold the cells together. I want to read a little bit about the laminins. And each one of us have millions of laminins. God spoke the world into being, and yet his creativity is so intricate that he fashions together the trillions of cells that form every facet of who you are. You are made up of trillions of cells, my friend. He knows everything about you, from the smallest molecule to the situation you find yourself in right now. He’s aware of your circumstances and intimately acquainted with everything you do. God cares about you and promises to carry you through. The power that holds all of creation together is God’s everlasting love. He is also your sustainer. In your body, it is Laminin’s, L-A-M-I-N-I-N-S. You can look that up, L-A-M-I-N-I-N-S, that hold you together literally. They are cell adhesion molecules that hold one cell of your body to the next. I love this. Without them, you would literally fall apart. Do you want to know what they look like? Look it up. They are in the shape of the cross. Yes. The glue that holds you together in each cell is in the shape of the cross. You are holding the cross of Jesus Christ in your body. Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue. And it’s just amazing how we realize, no, we can’t even begin to realize what God has done for us. You yourself, verse 21 of Colossians 1, you yourselves are a case study of what Jesus does. At one time, you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But when Jesus submitted himself to hanging on a cross, actually dying for you Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together whole and wholly in his presence how I wish I could have heard sermons like this forty years ago I really do I wish that they had been preaching sermons that are about Jesus our friend our best friend Jesus Christ and we know that there’s that no one in this whole world like our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ Jesus did so much more than this and I’ll have to wait till tomorrow to tell you about what he did more than just saving you from your sins. Jesus, you have the sweetest name on earth. And this morning I was going through YouTube. I found this beautiful song by Andre Crouch and the choir. And I want you to enjoy Jesus is the sweetest name I know.

SPEAKER 04 : 19:48

There’s no other name under heaven whereby men can be saved only in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the sweetest name I know.

SPEAKER 1 : 19:59

Sing it. Jesus.

SPEAKER 04 : 20:01

Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Is the sweetest name I know. Under heaven Jesus, Jesus Through him I am forgiven I’m living my life Just to please him I’m living my life Just to live with him forever.

SPEAKER 05 : 20:49

I’m living my life.

SPEAKER 04 : 20:54

Just to see him. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. Jesus is the sweetest name under heaven. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Through him I am forgiven. I’m living my life just to be with you.

SPEAKER 05 : 21:43

I know Jesus is the sweetest name under heaven. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Through him I am forgiven. I’m living my life just to praise him.

SPEAKER 1 : 22:28

I

SPEAKER 05 : 22:40

i’m living my life Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is the sweetest name under heaven. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is the sweetest name under heaven. I’m living my life just to please Him. I’m living my life to live with Him forever. I’m living my life to see Him. Jesus is the sweetest, sweetest name I know.

SPEAKER 1 : 24:07

Nobody, nowhere.

SPEAKER 05 : 24:53

jesus is

SPEAKER 1 : 25:23

No one like him. No one like him.

SPEAKER 02 : 25:32

There’s no one in the whole wide world like Jesus. Oh, I love the enthusiasm of my black brothers and sisters. In fact, John so many times said he wished he was black. And he sang like a black singer, but oh my goodness, I miss Andre. I miss Andre Crouch. Well, Paul is saying here, you just don’t walk away from the gift of Jesus. You just don’t do it. You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned into the message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. Boy, that’s one thing we’ve got to really watch, friend, especially with social media right now. Just the minute that phone that you’re holding, the minute that phone goes bing or there’s something, a ring or whatever it is, you’re… Attention is totally distracted to that phone. And so we’ve got to watch that. I am going to continue in Colossians, and we’re going to talk about some of the other things that Jesus did for us to make us free. You know, it was for freedom that Jesus set us free. So stand firm and be no longer subject or slave to the bond of slavery that we have lived in. Before Jesus, we lived in darkness, my friend. Oh, it’s been so good to be with you today. I’m all enthused. about serving our Lord and Savior. I hope you are too.

SPEAKER 01 : 27:18

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 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.