In this enlightening episode of Call to Freedom, Barbara Carmack invites listeners to explore deep questions about personal identity and faith. Through reflections on childhood experiences, inspiring scripture, and personal testimonies, listeners are encouraged to understand the importance of finding one’s identity in Christ rather than in the tumultuous noise of today’s world. Against the backdrop of legal and economic challenges, Barbara emphasizes stability and the unyielding love of God for His people.
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.
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Ah, ready or not, welcome to Call to Freedom. Sometimes I’m writing in my notes just to the very second that the program comes on. And I am just so grateful. It’s a joy to be with you today. I’m always so looking forward to being with you at this time. And that’s Monday through Thursday. I’m live here at 1 o’clock, Crawford Media, KLTT. And it’s such a blessing for me. I’m forever grateful to God, to Darren Carmack, for those people that were influential in helping me to continue on this radio junket that I’m on. And it’s going to be 30 years here. And it’s just a blessing. Praise God. I hope I am a blessing to you every day. I hope Call to Freedom has been a blessing to you. And if you go to the website, freedomstreet.org, you will see a lot of opportunities to read blogs or to listen to the radio program today. and right before the program uh the slate that i gave at one o’clock is um do you have a good idea of who you are or is your identity like the game pin the tail on the donkey and i had to laugh when i was thinking about a slate that i wanted to use for the live show and it’s like holy spirit said so many people are just back and forth listening to so many voices it’s like When you have that blindfold on and you’re wanting to pin the tail on the donkey, I know most of you have played that game. And the tail and you pinning that tail all over the room that you’re in, except on the tail of the donkey. So we’re going to talk a little bit today about your identity. And I believe it’s going to bless you. And I believe that God wants us to be focused on him and not on all the noise around. all the voices out there because we can get really confused and up and down in our emotions. And God wants us stable. He’s the rock. And so when we stand on that rock, we need to be stable. We need to have that stability and know that stability is not going to let us go rocking and rolling all over the place. Oh, I pray that you’re resting in the Lord today, that you’re keeping a quiet heart and And looking forward with hopeful expectation to the things you’re working together for good for. And that’s important. And especially when, oh, this last week, so many things came up. Legal things. Things I don’t want to have any business doing. Or being involved with. And I’m so grateful that people have come alongside and said, Barbara, we’re going to take over this for you. Or I’m going to take care of this for you. Oh, what a blessing. Because I don’t like to be in the legalese portion of Call to Freedom. And there are a lot of things going on right now behind the scenes. And people just grasping for what you have or what you need or what you’re going to have or whatever. Oh, I just, Lord, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, it’s so wonderful to know that God is with us. He is for us. And no one can come against us when God is for us. Do you know that? If God is for us, who can be against us? Praise the Lord. And today I heard where President Trump and the Pfizer president. just signed a deal in the White House, I think it’s the White House, or maybe it’s the Oval Office here, to lower medication prices in drugs and medications. And that should be a blessing to so many of you who are taking monthly, you know, are on prescriptions or monthly medications. So maybe that’ll help out with the economical pressures that we have today. Praise the Lord every little bit. I thank God for you are blessed to dispense for in him. You live and move and have your being. And you say, Barbara, are you always going to say that? Always. You are blessed to give into the kingdom of God. Don’t pinch those pennies. Give like the little widow who gave everything she had into the temple money box. And I’ll tell you what, Jesus was watching her. I am sure that she was taken care of for the rest of her life when Jesus saw that. Oh, praise the Lord. So you know that when you are a giver, when you give out of the wonderful sheer joy of giving, God is going to give back to you. Praise the Lord. I’m just looking at my verse. I love this verse this week. It’s so beautiful. Isaiah 52, verse 7. And I hope you’re memorizing that. A lot of you have already memorized that. When I say, how lovely on the mountains, and you can say, are the feet of those who bring good news, who announce peace and bring good news of happiness or well-being, who announce salvation and say to Zion, we’re going to walk into Jerusalem someday saying, Our God reigns. Our God reigns. Hallelujah. I remember when we sang that chorus in the church that I was attending. Oh, beautiful. When everybody, all the voices in the church were saying, Our God reigns over and over again. In the Living Translation, Isaiah 52, verse 7 says, How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that God, the God of Israel reigns. Oh, praise the Lord. And when you continue with that, it’s a wonderful thing to know that the watchman on the wall, and rejoicing for Israel. The watchmen on the wall sing and shout for joy because before their very eyes, they’re seeing the people returning to Jerusalem. Verse 9 of Isaiah 52 says, “‘Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song, for the Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem.'” I pray that you have a strong commitment to pray and be for Israel. Because there are a lot of times we can get all mixed up and say, well, that isn’t a very good turn of events when he’s killing all these people in Gaza. Listen, God has his plans. And I know that taking lives is a horrible thing. But when I believe when a person dies, he’s going to be with God. Yeah, I do. I believe even the people of the Gaza Strip who die. who die horrible deaths, are going to see God. So God has determined his holy power before the eyes of all the nations. All the ends of the earth will see the victory of our God. As Benjamin Netanyahu was addressing the United Nations last Thursday to a nearly empty audience, can you imagine getting up to speak? I can’t imagine. Getting up to speak to a crowd and everybody gets up. And not everybody got up. But I’ll tell you, they were clearing the aisles. I mean, I’m saying probably four or five dozen people walked out on him from the United Nations. How would that make you feel? Well, he just stood up there with such confidence. It was so great. I realized that right then that God doesn’t need the U.N. to complete his prophecies regarding his beloved Israel. No way. He doesn’t need the United Nations. Praise the Lord. And I’m wondering when the day is when President Trump is going to say, I want the United Nations to move out of the United States. I’m waiting for that day because we’re spending so much money on this organization that is powerful. basically anti-israel and because you the united states is for israel i see a real clash there in the future well this passage in isaiah 52 tells us that the watchmen shout and sing for joy for before their very eyes they see the lord returning to jerusalem Now, Jerusalem was in ruins at that time when Isaiah was writing, let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song for the Lord has comforted his people. And I just heard from someone who was that on the Christian network. He said he had just been to Jerusalem and he said. I didn’t believe it. We hear so much about the terrorists and the bombings and the unrest over there in the Middle East. I went up and down the streets of Jerusalem. It was peaceful. It was quiet. People were so friendly. They were inviting me into their stores. He said it was just amazing. He has redeemed Jerusalem. Praise the Lord. The Lord has done that. The Lord has demonstrated his holy power before the eyes of all the nations. All the ends of the earth will see the victory of our God. And that’s from Isaiah chapter 52. Praise the Lord from verse 7 to verse 10. Oh, go over that when you have time. Oh, it’s so beautiful. It’s not the United Nations that will determine the outcome of Israel on this earth, folks. It is God who will judge and bring every nation into account of how they treated his chosen people, Israel. I was blessed by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s courage and strength, and I pray that God will continue to give him wisdom and authority until Jesus returns. And that return is very soon. Oh, so I want to say again, how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger bringing good news, breaking the news that all is well, proclaiming good times, announcing salvation, telling Zion, your God reigns. As I was driving into the parking lot, I said, God, it’s just like I’m in a foreign country sometimes. You see all these people in the black robes and their faces covered, and you’re thinking the world is being taken over by a nation that you don’t recognize. And even in the traffic, you might… You know, you might feel that way also when you’re driving or when you’re out and about. Where am I? Is this the United States of America? Well, it is. And it’s changed a lot. But you’re still an American citizen. Praise the Lord. There’s a scripture that explains that when you believe you can’t help but speak about the freedom you have in Jesus Christ, you’re going to tell everybody that you see after the death of Charlie Kirk. On September 10th, I believe there’s a new wave of commitment in the hearts of those who are truly born again and who are getting closer and closer to God. God understands you. He really does. He understands your heart. He understands the situation you’re in. He’s gentle. He is in his responses. He’s loving. So remember that if you don’t feel like you’re quite in the place where God wants you to be, take some time for yourself. Refresh yourself. Lean back and feel that God is going to be patient towards you. So why aren’t you patient towards you? Yes, why aren’t you patient? Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 13, and this is the message, and I hope you don’t get tired of me quoting this beautiful verse from Isaiah 52, because it gives me joy to think of you going forth with the good news of Jesus in your mouth. We’re not going to keep this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, I believed it, so I said it. We also believe, therefore we speak. And that’s that scripture in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 13. We believe, therefore we speak. And what we believe is that the one who raised up the master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you. alive, alive and wanting to tell people more and more about Jesus. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory. More and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise. And the more and more people that we win to Jesus Christ, guess what? More and more praise. Yes, it’s just like a tsunami. Praise the Lord. So we’re not giving up. How could we? Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his gift of unfolding grace in Christ Jesus. Oh, grace, grace, thank you, Father, for covering my listeners with your wonderful gift of grace. From the top of their head to the soles of their feet, in their environment, in their home, in their car, your grace is surrounding them. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow, but the things we can’t see now will last forever. And you might be going to your favorite restaurant, and it’s gone. And you’re going into the parking lot, and you’re saying, where’s the restaurant? I know I’ve gone to my old schools. They’re gone. I’ve gone to my old homes. They’re gone. So after the shock, I say, okay, Lord, this is a new era. I’m entering into a new phase in my life. Praise the Lord. God’s promise to Abraham is that your faith in Jesus Christ has made you in right standing with God. Everything’s okay. The pressure of continual performance to prove your loyalty, it’s off. It’s off. Praise God it’s off. Last Thursday, Kimberly was talking about our identity. And our identity can be in our social media posts, in hobbies that we’re involved in, like the guy with the train collection or the woman with the doll collection. Or your identity may be in the church that you attend or in social clubs that you attend. Some of you have taken on the identity of a person you admire. Young people have imitated and wanted to be like a singer. I used to think that when you were a child or when I was a child, the boys would always, you know, when they were asked, what would you like to be when you grow up? They would say a fireman or a cowboy. Roy Rogers and Gene Autry were really popular when I was a little girl. So everybody wanted to be a cowboy. And the girls would say a nurse or a teacher or a cowgirl. Now, both genders, both genders, both women and men want to be famous singers, even when they can’t carry a tune. There are millions of Swifties who want to be just like Taylor and have what she has. Do you think they can be just like her and have what she has? No way. No way. And so we must realize our own identities. If our identity is not founded on Christ Jesus, there really isn’t any purpose in our lives. I remember when I was young and saw a girl who was really popular, surrounded by those that I envied, and I would try to be like her, dress like her, do my hair like her, but that wasn’t the real authentic me. I needed to find myself in all the turmoil of my world. I needed to return to the woman God created me to be. In Psalm 139, David has such a wonderful description about who we are. And he says in the 13th verse through the 24th, You know me inside and out, Lord. You know every bone in my body. You know exactly how I was made bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth. Remember that. He said from conception to birth. You’re not just a fetus, a piece of tissue, and then you go down that birth canal and you’re a human being. No way. No way. All the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I’d even taken a breath or lived one day. You may say that you were illegitimate or you were conceived in a one night stand, but that’s a lie. That’s a lie. God designed and created you in a spectacular way, and he loves what he created. In verse 17, it says, Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you. And please, God, do away with wickedness for good. And you murderers out here, all the men and women who belittle you, God. See, there are men and women today that belittle God. They belittle him and they say, oh, there is no God. There’s no savior for you. Oh, see how I loathe all this godless arrogance. That’s what David is saying. I loathe all this godless arrogance. I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred. Your enemies are my enemies. And the memorial service, I’ll never forget that. And probably all those hundreds of thousands that were there will never forget. When Erica Kirk forgave Tyler Robinson for killing her husband and President Trump said he couldn’t forgive like she just did. It was so precious because that was a moment that he was really very vulnerable and just laying his feelings out. There were people that he hated, you know, and he spoke of that. Well, I understand his reasoning. And one day. I believe that our president will forgive all the horrible things his enemies have done to him and his family. And there have been many, many, many, many. And I realize that sometimes it takes a while. I remember when a long time ago when a A pastor of a church. I can hardly speak of it anymore. Pastor of a church just belittled John and me in front of the huge audience. And we felt so betrayed by him. And it took me years, friend. I need to be really honest. It took me years every time I thought of that pastor’s name. to not cringe. And I have forgiven him and it’s been a blessing. But some of you, it’ll take a while. It’ll take a while. Psalm 139 goes on to say, investigate my life, O God, and find out everything about me. Cross-examine and test me. Get a clear picture of what I’m all about. See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong. Then guide me on the road to eternal life. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Maybe there are some of you listening today who have taken another path and imitated someone you deeply admire. Maybe you’ve allowed a person who you believe is smarter or more popular to be a role model for you. My friend, trying to imitate someone else will not bring fulfillment and peace into your life. I remember a very personal incident in my school life. I was in third grade. Yes, I remember. Third grade. Yes. And what a life lesson I learned. We had just had a geography test. And I love geography. And a very wise, gentle teacher had seen me erasing. They see. And she asked me to come up to her desk after class. She showed me my test paper and the answers to the questions. And some of the answers that I had erased… And added, were wrong. She showed me that the answer I had substituted were wrong. And the previous answers that I had written down without cheating and copying, they were the right answers. Do you know why I had erased the correct answers for the wrong answers? I had looked across at the most popular girl’s paper. Yes, I did that. Yep, third grade. And thought that she must be smarter than me. and her answers were not like my answers. Well, she wasn’t smarter than me. What a life lesson I learned that day from my authentic teacher, my favorite teacher in grade school. And I’ve never looked at another’s paper or thought that I had less brain power or ability than others in the classes I attended. From that day in third grade through four years of college, I never copied or looked at another person’s paper. What a life lesson. Oh. If I could thank Mrs. Briscoe, if I could thank her today, I would, but I know she’s with God. She was a very spiritual lady, and I’m so grateful. God made you capable in every way. Don’t allow your thoughts of inability to cloud the potential of being God’s kid. The solution to life is on God’s terms. He knows what’s best. And as Paul said in Philippians 3.10, that I may know him, really know you, God, and know how you feel about me. Oh, that I may experience the power of your resurrection and the fellowship of your suffering. Here’s John and me.
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I don’t mean to say that I’m perfect. I’ve only really begun But I’m working towards that glorious day When I will fully become All that Jesus saved me for And wants me to achieve That I may know him The one who sets me free
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I know him, the Lamb of Calvary.
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In his fellowship of sufferings, the real way to be free. That I may know the family into which I am born.
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His resurrection morn So whatever comes I will live with Newness of eternal life Ever looking to Jesus my Savior Forgetting all hatred and strife Looking forward to what’s ahead, his glorious victory. That I may know him, the one who set me free.
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That I may know him, the Lamb of Calvary. The real way to be free That I may know the family into which I’m born And know the power of His resurrection, Lord In its fellowship of suffering, the real way to be free. That I may know the family into which I was.
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Thank you.
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Oh, praise God. We can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good, my friend. God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He knew in your life. He knew in my life. And his people are going to be raised with Jesus Christ one of these days. There are going to be millions missing. Yep. I hope you’re one of them. Oh, God bless you and keep you. It’s been so fun being with you today. And I hope you remember that God loves you. You were not born unworthy. You were not born condemned. You were born created by God to do a special work here on this earth. I love you. God bless you and take joy.
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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.
