In this reflective episode of Call to Freedom, Barbara Carmack delves into the transformative power of having a pure heart as articulated in Matthew 5:8. Explore the importance of seeking righteousness and the profound blessings bestowed upon those who thirst for God’s presence. Barbara shares personal anecdotes, including navigating unexpected life events, and how faith plays a pivotal role in embracing life’s challenges. Join Barbara as she guides listeners through scriptural insights from Psalms and Mark, emphasizing the spiritual journey of forgiveness, faith, and the intimate 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-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.
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, I love this time of year. It’s so beautiful. Oh, praise God. Welcome to Call to Freedom. Oh, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. The pure in heart. Who are the pure in heart? Well, first of all, they hate sin. They hate any kind of recognition of sin or anything that looks like sin. And then they’re seeking the things of God, pure in heart, pure in heart. That should be a real motivational goal for us. Father God, I thank you that I’m going to be a person who seeks purity in my life. Not more and more of the fantastic or the immoral or what’s going on in this world, but pure of heart. Matthew 5, 8, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. And just a couple verses before that, it says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. See, God loves a person that’s just hungering for more and more and more of him who hunger and thirst for righteousness. You know what? They will be filled. That’s what it promises. They will be filled. Praise the Lord for those wonderful promises from our Lord Jesus. You are blessed to dispense for in him you live and move and have your being and If you would like to go online, and you can pay, during this busy season of the year, you can go online, go to freedomstreet.org, and there’s a little donate button, and just fill in the few little comments that you need to fill in, and then give that way. Or if you would like to listen to previous radio shows, you can go to radio show, click that. Or you can also go to 670kltt.com slash podcasts slash podcast. Call to Freedom. Again, that’s 670KLTT.com slash podcast. And there’s a whole list of radio shows, the teachers and evangelists. And you scroll down to Call to Freedom. And you can listen to Call to Freedom that way, too. So we’re on five times a day, and I hope that you can listen to one of those times because – This is a time when in all of our busyness, we want a moment of resting. And maybe that half hour will help you rest. I hope so. I will be sending you a 2025 motivational calendar. They’re really good. They talk about encouragement and your personality goals. And it’s a really great calendar. And you can send them. You can send. Send those wonderful words to people that you know every morning when you look at the calendar. Also, if you give the first part, I’ve already been folding them and putting them in envelopes and getting ready. to put your name on. If you’ve given the first 15 days of December, I will be sending you a calendar before the end of this year. Oh, the year has gone by so quickly. And if you send it the last day of December, I will be sending them to you in January. So I just want you to know, look forward to the calendar, the 2025 calendar. They’re wonderful. Verse for this week is Psalm 84, verse 11 and 12. And this is a living translation. Oh, what joy there is. And then from the message translation, Psalm 84, verses 10 through 12. One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship. And what is God’s house now? It’s not a brick and mortar, folks. It’s your heart. One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship. We need to make our hearts places of worship. Beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches. I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin. All sunshine and sovereign is God. generous in gifts and glory he doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions no he doesn’t it’s smooth sailing all the way with the god of angel armies and i had a precious friend i don’t know if i told you that i had jury duty can you imagine getting jury duty in the month of december and i’m going oh my goodness i don’t know what i’m going to do here because i just didn’t want to go i’m sure that some of you don’t want to go either to jury duty which could take up to three days and because i’m on the radio every day one of my precious friends just went to the courthouse for me had a letter drawn up and uh that letter was promoted to the fact that the person who was typing for this person that was waiting for an answer whether barbara carmack would be a jury duty duty or not And in that letter, she said, Barbara Carmack will be not expected to ever be in jury duty again. And when she showed me the copy of that, it was like her words and Holy Spirit were working at the same time together. And they provided a way of escape so that I don’t have to worry about jury duty for the rest of my life. Now, I have my 80s come, you know, through the 80s. There might be a time for jury duty, but that letter signifies that I’m forever excluded. I was so elated. Thank you so much. Oh, precious friends, precious friends and Holy Spirit. Just working together is just a wonderful thing to watch. Oh, my confession for today. I confess that my faith is growing and getting stronger every day. I am thankful for the situations that have exposed my true faith level. For now, I can work on improving the capacity of my faith. Yes, we need to believe that our faith is growing stronger every day, friend. We do. I know that faith comes by hearing of the word of God. So I purpose to baptize my spirit and soul in the truth of God’s word. Until my faith grows to a higher level than I’ve ever imagined could be attained. I want to possess mountain moving faith. So I determined to press forward with my whole heart and soul toward the goal of increasing the capacity of my faith. I love that Rick Renner. Thank you so much for that affirmation. And he says at the end, as he always does for the past five years, I’ve been reading this. I declare this by faith in Jesus name. Well, one of the passages in the Bible in the New Testament, covenant, is this passage, it’s the foundation of the faith walk. And if you want to know more about the faith walk and how to get into that stronger faith, you go to Mark 11. Yep, Mark 11, 22 through 25. And in the message, it’s just really a precious thing that Jesus is talking about. He was very matter-of-fact with the disciples here. Mark 11, 22 through 25 in the message. Embrace this God life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance, just say, go jump in the lake. Amen. No shuffling, no dilly-dallying, and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolute everything. This is Jesus, for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Now, for many of you, jury duty may not be a large thing. For me, it was. Because if you know downtown Denver, and my precious friend said, you can’t find a parking place in downtown Denver, so you either have to take Uber or have a friend drop you off and then call them and have them pick you up again. It’s just a complicated matter. So… ranging from small to large, Jesus says, pray for everything. Include everything as you embrace this God life and you’ll get God’s everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, that means you are focusing in, you’re putting the world out there. You’re not being distracted by the world anymore. You’re zeroing in on Holy Spirit and just bowing. You don’t have to literally bow, but bowing in prayer. Remember that it’s not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive. Only then will your Heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe out your slate clean of sins. Now, this is not only the forgiving thing. Not only is appearing here in Mark 11, but also in Matthew 6, verse 14 and 15. Really interesting, folks, because we think forgiving may be just a small thing in our lives. It is not. Jesus repeated this twice. Once right after the Lord’s Prayer when he taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer. And he says, for if you forgive, this is a 14 verse right after for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your father will not forgive your transgressions. And here it says in Mark 11, 25, forgive, only then will your heavenly father be inclined to wipe your slate clean. Now, I went to the New American Standard because sometimes I crisscross through the translations to see which is the best of the translations as far as clear for me, clarity for me. And Jesus is answering, saying to them in the 22nd verse of Mark 11, have faith in God. OK, not faith in the world system, not faith in your lawyer, not faith in your doctor. Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, and remember, this is Jesus speaking. Whoever says to this mountain, you may have mountains in your life. I’ve had mountains in my life. We all have mountains in our lives. Unbelief, doubt, fear. Fear is a big one. Fear is a big mountain. All right. He’s saying whoever says to this mountain. be taken up and cast into the sea, as the message says, go jump in the lake, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says, says, you don’t just mumble it in your mind or under your breath, he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore, I say to you, Jesus is directly speaking to us. Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them and they will be granted you. Whenever you stand praying, forgive. If you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, forgive. very serious neither will your father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions wow that’s amazing god wants to be the one You want intimacy with more than any other person on this earth. And as you hear these verses I’ve just said, you’re saying, yes, I want to grow. I want to do that. I want to get rid of the doubt and fear and unbelief. He wants you to have the desire to be more intimate with him. You know how intimate he’s wanted to be with you? He died for you. That’s how intimate he wants to be with you. It’s very drastic to show someone that you love them so much you die for them. And that’s what he did. Someone long ago told me, if you were the only one on earth, Christ would have died for you. So let’s desire to get to know him in this next triumphant year of great things. I’m looking forward to great things. One thing you might pray about, these steel, these big steel frames that they built for the border wall, Biden is selling them off at auction at two cents for every dollar. And there’s hundreds of miles of these that are being auctioned off. May you hold up your hand today and say, this will not happen in Jesus’ name. This will not be sold off because they’ve already been paid by us, the taxpayer. They’re just sitting there waiting to be put up again. And when Trump gets in, guess what he’s going to do? He’s going to put up a border wall. So say, enough, enough. This will not go to auction. They will not be sold. No one will buy them. And we’re going to see those consequences. up again and built as border walls again oh thank you so much for praying for that david said in psalm 25 verse 4 show me your ways lord teach me your paths in psalm 16 11 we all know this verse you will show me the path of life in your presence presence presence is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore this is an intimacy friends Do you want more time with God? You’ve got to make more time with him. And it doesn’t take a lot of planning or checking your schedule. I have quality with my Heavenly Father in the car, and I know more of you do. You’re in the car, and you’re praying, and you’re thanking God. You’re speaking in your prayer language, and it’s wonderful. Or even walking behind the grocery cart, letting him tell you what to buy that’s good for you. That’s what I do. Okay, up this aisle, what do you want me to buy, Holy Spirit? Oh, we can’t have that. Oh, and I have time as I walk. I have time as I rake leaves to listen to Holy Spirit. Do you remember that wonderful old hymn? And he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own. And the joy we share as we tarry there none other have ever known. Well, the writer of that hymn, In the Garden, is the author and composer C. Austin Miles. And he has this following account of the day that he first saw the vision. The Lord gave him the vision. And it was in his photographic studio. And I’m just going to read what he said about this song that he wrote. One day in March of 1912. Yep, that was a long time ago. I was seated in the dark room where I kept my photographic equipment and organ. He was not only a singer, but he was an instrumentalist and also a composer. I drew my Bible toward me. It opened at my favorite chapter, John 20. That’s unusual. That’s not usually a favorite chapter of people, but that was of C. Austin. Whether by chance or inspiration, let each reader decide. That meeting of Jesus and Mary had lost none of its power to charm. As I read it that day, it seemed to be a part of the scene. I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary’s life when she knelt before her Lord and cried, My hands were resting on the Bible while I stared at the light blue wall in front of me. As the light faded, I seemed to be standing at the entrance of a garden, looking down a gently winding path shaded by olive branches. A woman in white with head bowed, hand clasping her throat as if to choke back her sobs, walked slowly into the shadows. It was Mary as she came to the tomb upon which she placed her hand. She bent over to look in and hurried away. John in flowing robe appeared looking at the tomb and then came Peter who entered the tomb. At the tomb, followed slowly by John. As they departed, well, they realized it’s an empty tomb. Oh, as they departed, Mary reappeared. Leaning her head upon her arm at the tomb, she wept. Turning herself, she saw Jesus standing. So did I. The composer of this song said, So did I. I knew it was he. She knelt before him with arms outstretched and looking into his face cried, Rabboni. I awakened in full fight, gripping the Bible with muscles tense and nerves vibrating under the inspiration of this vision. I wrote as quickly as the words could be formed and finished the poem as it has since appeared. Nothing was changed.” So great. That same evening I wrote the music. And here it is. So often the midst of sorrows when hope seems cold and dead, with lifted eyes we too may see an empty tomb instead. And here is the verse and choruses of In the Garden. I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses, and the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known. He speaks and the sound of his voice is so sweet. The birds hush their singing and the melody that he gave to me within my heart is ringing. Here’s John Wells.
SPEAKER 03 :
I come to the garden alone While the dew is still on the roses And the voice I hear falling on my ear The Son of God discloses He speaks and the sound of his voice is so sweet. The birds hush their singing and the melancholy. And he tells me I am his own And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, I’m so grateful for that song. It’s sung at many funerals. I wish more people would sing it as a glorious meditative song because that’s the intimacy that Jesus wants with you today. And Mary, after Jesus… told her to not cling to him because he had not yet been with a father, Mary came announcing to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that he said these things to her. And when therefore it was evening on that day, I’m sure the disciples were going, oh boy, she’s cracked up. And then, therefore, it was evening on that day. And I’m reading from John 20, verse 19. The first day of the week and when the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Yep, fear always tries to come in, creep in. Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, you know what he said to them? Peace, peace be unto you. And when he had said this, he showed them both his hands and his side, and the disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord. And Jesus said to them, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive, Holy Spirit. One thing that you may want to be able to show your relatives and friends this Christmas season is, is the fact that you are filled with a different kind of a love that they haven’t yet experienced. And you are a witness and a messenger for Jesus’ love. You may have a family that is mostly, I hate to say the word, but heathen. That’s a word that we use for people that don’t know the Lord. But in your love and in your forgiveness, so many things happen in our lifetime. So many things. And we just, as Kimberly says, we just have to be unoffendable. Nothing can offend us. Nothing can offend us. Boy, that’s hard. I know it is. But we can get to a point in our life where that is so true. And Jesus said, receive Holy Spirit if you forgive the sins of any. See, going to a table at Christmas, forgiving what they had done to you, forgiving the sins of any. Their sins have been forgiven them. If you retain the sins, if you keep it back, if you have a grudge, if you don’t, say, I forgive. I forgive, Lord. They have been retained. They have not been forgiven. So we have a real assignment, folks. That Jesus that ascended into heaven, praise God, a new life, a new year, a new expectancy is coming. He is sitting at the right hand of God the Father. And in Revelation 5, it says, and here’s John speaking, I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne Jesus. a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. That’s perfection. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and break its seals? And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then they all began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it. And one of the elders, I wonder what’s in the book. One of the elders said to me, stop weeping. Behold, a lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David has overcome. So as to open the book and its seven seals. And I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders, a lamb, capital L. standing as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God. You can find them in Isaiah 11, verse 2. He came and took the book out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. When he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. See, your prayers are effective. I just read Mark 11. 24, and it says that when you pray and ask, it shall be done for you. So many of us don’t pray and ask. We really don’t. We just think we’re going to get through the day or we’re going to get through the thing that we’ve gotten ourselves into. Ask God. God is right there. And they sang a new song saying, worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals. For you were slain and purchased for God with your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And you have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God. And then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne. and the living creatures and the elders. And the number of them were myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. And among those thousands of angels, friend, our year is your angel. Yes, God has assigned you an angel. Every one of us have an angel. Have you called your angel lately? Have you talked to your angel lately? Oh, myriads, thousands upon thousands of angels. They’re there to protect you in your driving, in the traffic. They’re there for you. saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. We can’t say too much about Jesus. It’s ongoing. That’s verse 12 of Revelation 5. You might want to take that tonight. Open up your Bible and just quote that again with a loud voice. Yeah, in your home. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! And every created thing which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all the things in them. I heard saying to him who sits on the throne, To the Lamb, the Lamb, that’s Jesus, our Jesus. Oh, be all blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. You’d better start practicing because you’re going to say it a lot when you see Jesus. Hallelujah. And the four living creatures kept saying, Amen, Amen, Amen. Amen means yes. Yes, I agree with what has just been said. Yes. And the elders fell down and worshiped. Oh, what a wonderful time to be able to worship our Lord Jesus, to take some time. Yes, take a little time. Each one of us, instead of scrolling down on your phone, looking at the last message or looking back and seeing what’s on the other online sites, take some time. Just say, oh, receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. Oh, I love you. God bless you. Take joy today. Take joy.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for listening to Call to Freedom with Barbara Carmack. You may get in touch with Barbara at Call to Freedom, Box 370367, 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 370367.org. 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!
In this reflective episode of Call to Freedom, Barbara Carmack delves into the transformative power of having a pure heart as articulated in Matthew 5:8. Explore the importance of seeking righteousness and the profound blessings bestowed upon those who thirst for God’s presence. Barbara shares personal anecdotes, including navigating unexpected life events, and how faith plays a pivotal role in embracing life’s challenges. Join Barbara as she guides listeners through scriptural insights from Psalms and Mark, emphasizing the spiritual journey of forgiveness, faith, and the intimate relationship with God.
