Join Barbara Carmack and her team as they explore the rich themes of prayer, praise, and the pursuit of a divinely-inspired life. From the profound simplicity of asking Jesus into your heart to the complex beauty of community prayer, this episode offers enlightening insights into the Christian journey. Discover how prayer isn’t just a ritual but a transformative practice that brings profound changes both to ourselves and those we intercede for.
00:19:25 Communion and Renewing Our Covenant with God
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 Call to Freedom. I’m so glad you joined me today. God has kept you and is keeping you in his grace. I want you to know that if you know Lord Jesus as your Savior and Lord, and I pray that if you don’t know him, if you’re saying, well, I hope I get to heaven, heaven shouldn’t be the goal. It’s this abundant life that he’s promised to us here of saving souls, of teaching others, of being examples to others. So if you do not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, ask him. That’s all you have to do. Lord Jesus, I know I’m not doing your will. I know I’m in a bad place right now. And I ask you to be my Savior and Lord. That’s it. And Romans 10, 9 and 10 tells you that you’re saved when you confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead. You’re saved. Hallelujah. We put so many, many difficult words together and phrases and you have to do this and you have to do that to accept the Lord Jesus. No, you just humble your heart and say, Jesus, man, I have made a mess of my life and I just want you to come in and do your work in me. Oh, he’s so good. So good. So he’s kept you and is keeping you in his grace and in his mercy. When you’re sinning, he loves you. He loves you. And in his perfect plan and purpose for your life. If I asked you, what is God’s plan for you? Would you be able to tell me what is God’s plan for you? Well, if you tell me that Jeremiah 29, 11 tells you that God’s plan for you is for good and not for calamity or accidents, then I know you’re into the word because that’s a good answer. Jeremiah 29, verse 11. I want to tell you that we were told… by Franklin Graham and I totally agree with this to call to prayer during this time of unrest and turmoil and he mentioned noon 12 o’clock which is not the best time for a lot of you because you’re out and about and you’re doing things and so I want to challenge you here as you’re listening to the news like an interview, if you’re listening to Fox, or if you’re listening to Christian news, and they bring on a face of a familiar person in the government or who is leading the country, pray for that person right then and there. have to you can listen to what they’re saying and you can also pray you can pray for them it’s just like at the beginning of this program as jimmy was introducing call to freedom guess what i was doing i was praying for him because i’m not just going to sit there and listen to him i’ve listened to him hundreds of times and he’s a dear friend so i was praying for him Wisdom, Father God, and understanding, peace and joy. You know how to pray. So I’m challenging you. You may not be able to go to those few minutes at noon or a specific time. But when somebody is on the news or you hear of someone, pray for them right now. Yeah, pray for them right then. And you will see profound changes in them and in you. Yes, because you’re going to become a person of prayer. You truly are. So I want you to know that. During this time of turmoil and unrest, I just pray that something wonderful happens. in the realm of the spiritual and the heavenlies is going to happen. In my practical, I would like to say, you know what? I’d like President Trump to put a curfew on Minneapolis. Nobody can be out and about after 9 o’clock at night. They used to do that in college with us. You can’t go out on campus after 9 o’clock during the week. Okay. So, yeah, that’s why I went to the dean’s office quite a few times because of that. Oh, praise the Lord. I’m so glad for God’s mercy. Well, we have a verse of scripture here, and then Kimberly, you can just join me anytime you want to, Kimberly. Oh, thank you. What is your scripture of the week? It’s Job 22, 28. And you shall decree a thing and it will be established for you and light shall shine on your ways. So good. And that wasn’t even something that Job said. It was something that his friend said. But it’s just so great. It’s it tells us that we need to be speaking. We need to be saying the word. We need to be praying out loud for people. And then it will be established. God listens. He hears our prayers. That’s really good. And the light will shine on our ways. Praise the Lord. Oh, that’s so good. Light will shine on our ways. Yes. I really like… Go ahead. Well, it’s like a friend I just saw down the hall and she had been tested for insurance. And insurance isn’t for everybody to sell. You’ve got to be a salesman. And so she said, I didn’t pass the test. And I said, well, you know what? That tells me that God didn’t want you in insurance. And so sometimes we think, oh, that sounds really good. I can do that on the side and I can… It’s flexible. I can use my time for other things and then do that. And yet God is saying, no, no, I’ve got something better for you. His plan for her is so much better than insurance.
SPEAKER 03 :
I’m believing that with you and that he will direct her to things that she will really enjoy.
SPEAKER 02 :
Amen.
SPEAKER 03 :
I have a feeling. At the same time, I know that there are some personalities that when they’re met with a challenge like that and there’s a failure, they just want to get back up and try again. And there is something about that experience.
SPEAKER 02 :
uh that exercise of getting back up trying again let’s study again you know because there are some who love to study and love to take tests there’s there’s personalities like that out there i know that we have to really listen to holy spirit because those things may sound really good but they’re not for all you know everybody and a boy especially salesmen it’s just amazing how hard that is when you’re when you know when you’re not a people person And you’re a kind of introvert. So I’m just thinking that our friends out there, if you are struggling up against a wall or something is happening in your life where you’re at a stalemate, get on your knees. Begin to talk to God. And more than that, get quiet before him and let him talk to you. He will. He’ll talk to you if you give him a breath. Amen. Praise the Lord. So you shall decree a thing and it will be established for you and light will shine on your ways. Praise the Lord.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s so good. Yes. Well, I’m going to just take that and fold it right into the idea of becoming more like God and really wanting to hear his voice, wanting to follow him as our guide in this world and learning to praise him for everything that he allows. So even when we don’t get praise, a job that we’re looking for or don’t pass a test that we had just taken or being able to praise Him. That’s actually a really hard thing to do. It requires us to grow in faith and to grow in trust. and know that He has really good things planned. Last week, we were looking at Proverbs 27, 21. It says, “…the melting pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested according to praise.” And there’s so much more to this verse than what we talked about last week. So I’m just going to use it as our pinnacle verse for this week as well. Proverbs 27, 21 is telling us that silver and gold need a refining process to bring out their true beauty. Likewise, human beings also need refining to bring out our true beauty. we are made in the image of god he’s the most beautiful being in the universe and i don’t even know if we can say in the universe the universe is created by him there’s another realm that’s even larger than the universe you know wow that blows my mind to think about that and we’re made in his image yeah We’re made for a very large purpose to be his perfect partner and his best friend. But we don’t really act like him or think like him in our human form. So I was reading at Psalm 51. This is describing our human nature. Psalm 51, verse 17 through 21 says, It says that our human nature hates discipline, ignores God’s words, that we are tolerant of thievery and adultery. We speak deceitfully, we lie, and we let rude and condemning speech come out of our mouths all the time. That’s right. And the Lord says in verse 21, these things you have done, and I kept silence. You thought that I was just like you, but I will reprove you. And another word that I will rebuke you, or I will refine you and state the case in order before your eyes. So I like that it says state the case in order.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hello? In order. State the case in order before your eyes. That reminds me of the scripture that I gave. to you yesterday from job it’s wonderful to know that we can put some of this scripture together and job is saying though you slay me i will trust in you and that poor that is so serious for most of us though he slay me i will hope and trust in him and then go down to verse 18 this is in the 13th chapter of job Behold, now I have prepared my case. See, he is going to argue his case before God, just like they’re doing at the Supreme Court. But he knows that he’s righteous before God because he goes on to say, I know that I will be vindicated. And we know, because Jesus is in our hearts, that we are righteous before God. Our righteousness, because it’s 2 Corinthians 5.21, tells us that he who knew no sin became sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. So before God, we’re all righteous. It’s beautiful to know that he’s refining us for these wonderful characteristics. Is Kimberly back yet? No, she’s not. Wow. Wow. OK, it’s it’s like I hope she’s not. No, she’s not on Verizon. I heard today that Verizon has a big blackout going on. So if that were true, then I would have to speak for her. Oh, my goodness. And sometimes these things happen on the radio. And I hope that when they do happen, that the hosts have someone else who does the talking. Kimberly was talking here just about Psalm 51, verse 17 through 21. It says that our human nature hates discipline. Do you know this morning? Oh, it was so cuddly. I know. When you’re in bed and you’ve got the blankets over you and the quilts and it’s so warm and You’re needing to get out into a little bit colder atmosphere. I don’t keep my house hot. I really don’t. And so I was saying, oh, I just love to be here all day long, snuggle in these sheets. Rachel’s going thumbs up, yes. And then I say, then I say, oh, this is the day that that’s the thing that gets me out of bed. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad. So, Rachel, I’m I’m so glad that I’m not the only one that just wants to stay in bed. Praise the Lord. Okay, Kimberly, you’re back.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, I guess I dropped out and I’m not sure how you got to the place of needing to stay in bed. So I’m not sure where to start.
SPEAKER 02 :
Where did we leave off? Okay. It’s I’m in your verse. It’s Psalm 51, verse 17. Our human nature hates discipline. And that’s where I got into the staying in bed during the day, ignoring God’s word.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, there’s something I’ll go ahead and speak into that just because there’s something about learning to rest. And sometimes we push ourselves a little too hard because we want to be productive and we want to accomplish things. And that’s good if the Lord is leading us in that productivity and in that accomplishment. But human nature has a tendency to really put responsibility on our own shoulders to accomplish things. And I think that’s part of what we were talking about last week, that praise is that refining that humans go through that brings the character of God. Yes. And we rest in him as we learn to praise him. and say, thank you. Thank you for this day that you have prepared. Let me be listening to you. Let me stop when I need to stop on all my tasks and what I’m doing to be productive. And we’ve got to listen, just like you said at the top of the hour, we’ve got to just be praying and listening and following what God wants for us. And that is how we have faith and trust that is built up in the Lord. He has given us those wonderful surgeons that can pull out poison and mend broken bones. And we need God to get the poison out of us and mend the broken thinking and truly refine us. The verse that we’re reading here from Psalm 51 in the message translation, Did I say 51? Yes. I think it was Psalm 50 that I’m in. Oh, okay, because it was 51. No, okay, you’re right, 51. I have a typo in my notes here.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I think you have a scripture that is from Psalm 50, but you’re concentrating and centering on Psalm 51 right now. And Kimberly, I’ve got to admit, the Psalms and the Proverbs are hard for me to memorize and get straight. And after all these years I’ve been in the word of God, you’d think they just come naturally and they don’t. So I understand. Yeah. So yeah, Psalm 51.
SPEAKER 03 :
So I believe Psalm 50, verses 16 through 23, in the message translation, it says, what are you up to? This is God talking, by the way. This is the Lord speaking. And he says, what are you up to? Quoting my laws, talking like we are good friends. You never answer the door when I call. You treat my words like garbage. I kept quiet. I kept a quiet patience while you did these things. You thought I went along with your games. But I’m calling you out on it now. I’m calling you out on the carpet, laying your wickedness out in plain sight. The time is up for playing fast and loose with me. I’m ready to pass sentence and there’s no help in sight. That just means you can’t avoid it. I’m going to let you know that this is not the way that you become like me, that you become my perfect partner and my best friend. So then in verse 23, Father God shows us the answer to all of our, uh, our undisciplined ways, the ways we’re ignoring him to tolerating theft and adultery. He shows us the answer in verse 23. He says, it’s the praising life that honors me. As soon as you set your foot on the way, I’ll show you my salvation. He is so happy to pull us up and out, to come right in and save our lives, to restore us, to clean us up. He’s so happy to do that. We just need to change our mind about how we’re doing life. That passage is so clear. We are living in a world that is not aligned with God’s image and his plans. And let’s be really honest, we’re living in bodies with minds that are not aligned with God’s image and His character. That’s right. We can go to church and be so inspired and thankful for the presence of the Lord in the service and yet be tested in the parking lot on the way out. If someone pulls out in front of us, we can lose our patience and our temper so quickly and almost forget what we experienced in the sanctuary. Yes. That is not like our God. Our God does not just lose his patience like that. In this section of Psalm 50, he’s saying that he stayed quiet, that he had patience with us. He kept silence when we thought that he was just like us. So That is something that I’m blown away by. He’s so full of compassion and patience and kindness, and we’re not. That’s why we need to renew our minds. And taking communion is one of those ways to renew our commitment to be God’s people, to be his servants, and to let him have his way in making us like him. We want to make him our Lord, maybe again and again after we’ve slipped. We just want to renew that covenant with him. And communion is a great way to do that. And just let him lead us back into his patience, his compassion, his kindness and gentleness and love. We can take that time of communion to praise Him for letting us enter into chaos and trust Him to bring order out of it. It’s building our faith. Yesterday I had a pretty trying day. It rocked my boat. I’ll just admit it. it felt like real chaos. And this morning in the early, early morning hours, I think I was awake around three o’clock and I felt led to take communion. Just meditating on what communion really is. I’ve heard the stories that communion, it reflects the idea of what a Hebrew man would do with the bride that he wanted to make a covenant with. And he would put the cup of wine in front of her. And basically that was asking her, will you be my wife? Will you make a covenant with me? He would drink from the cup. And, you know, Jesus drank from a cup that he didn’t really want to drink from. He talked about it in the Garden of Gethsemane.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
It was a cup of suffering that he did not really want to drink from. But he did. He wanted to accomplish what God set out to do, what he set out to do. So he did want to, but didn’t want to. I’m sure we’ve all felt that way. And then after drinking that cup, he has said it in front of us. Will you share in my sufferings? Will you trust me that it’s all going to work out for good? So this is a way that we can… Just bring this chaos before him and renew our covenant with him. Renew our vows and say, I’m still yours. I’m still trusting you. I still believe that you are working all things together for good. And I give you praise right now in the darkest moments, in the hardest moments. I give you praise. Proverbs 27, 21, going back to that and talking about how praise refines a man’s character. A man’s ability to praise is not something he’s born with. Telling someone else that they’re doing a good job and giving credit to others and giving credit to the Lord is not something that comes real easily to a human. Trying to encourage or foster talent in others by recognizing their value and wanting to put others in front of you. That’s not a natural human trait. Humans tend to want the praise for themselves. We want the recognition and the encouragement. So praising and encouraging others is learned. Praising God is a decision that we make, especially when learning to praise in the middle of the hardest circumstances. We can learn to consider it joy. We can learn that verse in the Bible. Consider it all joy when you have trials and tribulations. We can memorize that and quote that phrase. But what about truly, joyfully accepting God’s story that he would like to write? Offering praise for how he is allowing this life to unfold in front of us. We need to remember that any time He restores and redeems and resurrects, it comes after we have had a loss or trauma or devastation. That’s right. Can we let that loss and that devastation be a part of our story with praise, with trust and forgiveness? That sounds really hard. That’s a difficult thing to ask of us humans. But there’s nothing impossible for our God. He can lead us into that if we’re willing. And that is how we honor him. We honor the one who has asked us to play the lead role next to him in this universe. That is a mind blowing experience. concept, but it’s truth. It is what the Bible is telling us. We’re his best friend. We are his perfect partner. And we do not need to allow fear to trigger us. We can thank God in the midst of the storms that we find ourselves in. Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Amen. When you said he restores, he redeems, he resurrects, that means that there was a loss before the restoration. When you restore something, it is damaged. Something has happened traumatic. And so you restore, he redeems. That means that you were headed for hell and now you’re with him. And resurrects means somebody died and now they are resurrected. So, Kimberly, all this… It is a result. The redemption, the restoration, resurrection is a result of someone losing a lot, some little, some a lot. But then God comes in and intervenes and he restores, redeems and resurrects.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s right. And with all the turmoil and the chaos in this world that we hear in the news, more than ever, we need to learn to praise God for his power and his plan, the story that he’s writing. He’s the only one who can bring peace to the turmoil and order to the chaos. But he’s asking us to join him. And I believe we can do that by renewing our covenant with him, We can do that daily. And I just want to invite you who are listening to join us tomorrow in taking communion together. Have those communion elements ready. We plan on having communion and remembering who we are and the role we play next to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. That’s right. Let’s ask him to do whatever he needs to do. In us and around us to give us the opportunity to praise him and be refined by that praise.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. If you have your power pack, you can go to card 41 and review some of the verses for communion. Also, you can go to Luke 22 and read that story on communion about how Jesus gathered the disciples around him. But join us tomorrow. We will have we will take the grape juice and the crackers blessed in Jesus name. to be the blood and body of Jesus. So thank you, Kimberly, for inviting us into that wonderful ceremony. I’m looking forward to it. And thank you so much for the teaching. Yes, thank you.
SPEAKER 1 :
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SPEAKER 01 :
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