In this enlightening episode of Call to Freedom, join hosts Barbara Carmack and Kimberly as they delve into the profound nature of God’s glory. Beginning with a discussion about the upcoming meeting and Valentine card exchange, the conversation swiftly moves to an in-depth reflection on scriptures. Drawing from Exodus and other biblical texts, they explore the attributes of God’s glory, emphasizing goodness, compassion, and mercy as central to His divine nature. Through scriptural exploration, listeners are invited to understand the transformative power of humility and the profound intimacy God seeks with each of us. As they unravel the layers
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 370-367 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 03 :
Welcome to Call to Freedom. And that phone number, 1-877-917-7256, which Jimmy will repeat to you at the end of the program, can be called for reservations for this Saturday. And we have a meeting on February 14th. So we’re asking you who come to the meeting at 11 o’clock to bring a Valentine card. and put your favorite scripture on it and sign it. And then we’re going to exchange those cards in the envelopes, maybe after the meeting. Kimberly will be here, and we’re just going to have a really good time.
SPEAKER 02 :
We are. I’m looking forward to it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Or we could do it before the meeting. Or during, in the middle of. Or during the meeting, yes. We can make it part of the meeting. That’s right. You are blessed to dispense, for in him you live and move and have your being. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, my friend. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Oh, praise the Lord. We pray that for everyone listening today. That’s our prayer for you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, His peace. You know, I think His peace and His glory can come hand in hand with one another. And we were talking about His glory yesterday. I can’t get over this section in Scripture in Exodus 33 and 34 that talks about the glory of God. I just keep meditating on that. Because it really does blow me away. We think of Moses as being a special person, a special prophet, and he was. But we think that maybe the Lord will only speak to a certain few or a certain one that way and show up that way with only one. But I believe that the Lord wants a relationship with every single one of us like that. He would desire to speak face to face with any of us. And I believe the reason why he spoke face to face with Moses is because Moses was so humble. He was a very humble man. He was able to write that about himself, that he was the most humble man on the earth. He says that about himself when he writes. And humility is what God is looking for. The Bible tells us that God resists the proudful. The ones who are in pride, he resists them. So he does not connect with them, but he connects with the humble and the lowly. And when he starts talking about his glory, when God starts talking about his glory in Exodus 33, Moses asks him in verse 18, I pray you show me your glory. And the Lord tells him that he will do what he asks. Mm hmm. And he said, I myself will make all my goodness pass before you. It doesn’t say I myself will make all my glory pass before you. He starts defining his glory by calling it goodness. And then he says, I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. This is more definition of his glory. His glory includes goodness and graciousness, grace, and it includes compassion. I will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.
SPEAKER 03 :
And then he says to Moses in verse 22, it will come about that while my glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. So his glory is… It’s so awesome that we would be falling backwards. And there are several places in the Bible where people fell back from the glory of God, from the mighty power that emanated from that, from Jesus and from God.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, I like that you’re seeing that when God puts Moses in the cleft of the rock, that’s support for Moses. You’re going to need some support when I pass by you, so let me put you in the cleft of the rock so that you feel supported. That’s right. That’s right. Wow. That’s good. That’s really good. Yeah, I know His glory has got to be so awesome, so brilliant, so bright. Are there even words? I don’t know if there are words for His glory. And the definition of His glory is so far beyond what we can imagine, His fame, what He has been able to accomplish that He deserves honor and recognition for. That’s His glory. And it also includes, it’s including his definition that he is saying his goodness, my goodness will pass before you. My grace, my compassion that will pass before you. And then in Exodus 34 verses six and seven, when God is actually in the act, Of displaying his glory in front of Moses. So now we can picture, thanks to you, we can picture Moses being held up in the cleft of the rock right here because God put him right there being supported. And God is going before Moses. And he continues defining his own glory as he calls out. The Lord himself is calling out and saying, the Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and merciful. There’s another one, mercy. So we have goodness and grace, compassion, and now mercy. Then he says, slow to anger and abounding in faithfulness and loving kindness and And truth.
SPEAKER 03 :
And truth, yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Who keeps loving kindness. He keeps faithfulness for a thousand generations. Who forgives wrongdoing, iniquity, transgressions, and sin. Yes. Now, there’s here in this next phrase, just in case any of us are thinking that he is that he’s the kind of God you can just walk all over because he’s so forgiving and so compassionate. Just in case anyone. thinks that he that’s what he is god is love he’s only you know the kind of love that we think we’re getting our way all the time because he loves us so much so he’s going to let us have our way whatever you think of of his mercy and his compassion and his love here’s a phrase right here here’s in the next scripture yet he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished He visits the sins and iniquities of fathers on the children and the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations. This is not a God who’s just weak and so meek and humble that he does not give any account to sin. Here he’s saying that I see sin and I don’t want it to go unpunished. I will punish the guilty. This is how it works. And at the same time, I’m not holding guilt and holding sin so tightly to people. I am a God of mercy. I am slow to anger. I am abounding in loving kindness and truth. I am faithful for a thousand generations. I am one who forgives. Wow. Wow. That is an amazing definition of glory. So when we start thinking of the glory of the Lord and reading about it in the Bible, it’s been a revelation for me to start inserting forgiveness and pardon and mercy and compassion. It’s changed my life. to see that God’s glory includes all of those characteristics and virtues as well as honor and fame and everything that he is renowned for because he’s done so well in all the earth. So having our lives changed by reading it a little differently is is it’s an opportunity to grow opportunity for growth and maturity in the Lord. And so if we look at other scriptures, Psalm 19, one says the heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. We can look at the heavens and see that in all of what he has created, all of the vastness of space and the beauty of stars and galaxies, that we can see the glory of God and how he is not limiting us when we sin. When we turn to him, when we repent, he has galaxies and stars worth. He’s got the whole space, the whole universe of forgiveness to offer us. He’s that full of forgiveness, that full of compassion and mercy and love. Isaiah 40, verse five. I love Isaiah 40. You were talking about that yesterday. Isaiah 40 in verse five says, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. And and just earlier in this chapter 40, it starts out saying comfort, comfort my people. Well, why do we need comfort? Because we’ve fallen away. We have sinned and others are sinning against us. And now we’ve created a mess on this planet. And that mess, we don’t know how to get out of it. We can’t get ourselves out of it. So the Lord says that the glory of the Lord will be revealed.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is how all flesh will see. As I told you today, I would like to change. We’ll see it together. I would like it to say he will see him together because Jesus is the revealed glory of God on this earth. And he’s coming back for us. Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. King David, right before he died, he wrote his last song to God. And it’s in First Chronicles 29. He says, And the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth, thine is the dominion, O Lord, and thou hast exalted thyself as head over all. And then he goes into both riches and honor come from thee, O Lord. and thou dost rule over all, and in thy hand is power and might, and it lies in the hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. This glory is made for us to strengthen us and make us glorious in all that we’re doing and successful. And like Jesus said, and you will have an abundant life. How many people, Kimberly, can experience, and I’m talking spiritual here, a spiritually wholeness experience to their lives. There always seems to be something that’s off kilter. It’s like a three-legged stool and you saw one leg down to get it even and then it isn’t even so you saw another part of the second leg and it just winds up… I’ve thrown two or three away. Stools? Yeah, stools, because I just couldn’t get them out.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, that section that you’re reading there is talking about God’s majesty and his dominion and his victory and his riches and honor. And these are words that provoke us to think of fame. And then glory is stuck in there. And if you use his definition of glory… then we can say forgiveness, compassion, mercy, and pardon for a thousand generations. It belongs up with those other high words of victory and majesty and dominion and fame and honor and riches and everything. Forgiveness and forgiveness. Forgiveness. I think a lot of us might not look at forgiveness as being something high. When we think of needing to forgive someone, that feels a little lowly. That feels hard. And yet the Bible says glory to God in the highest place. Glory, forgiveness, mercy, compassion is high. And I have been encouraged in my own life to practice mercy, to practice compassion and forgiveness, giving pardon to people who have wronged me. and betrayed me, rejected me, have embarrassed me and being able to say, you know what, I want to forgive because we were made for the glory of God. We were made for the glory of God. We were made in his image. So this is this has been really good for me to learn this and to walk in something that I hadn’t seen before in my life, to walk in the glory that he is speaking over his people. When in Isaiah 40, verse five, when it says the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. He is talking about his people and the glory in his people being revealed and the forgiveness that will cover his people who need comfort. Comfort my people. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. You see that? That’s the beginning of Isaiah 40. Comfort her. Tell her that her sins are pardoned. That’s part of the glory that shall be revealed. No one can measure the depths of God’s understanding. I’m still reading from Isaiah 40. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths, this is the end of chapter 40, even youths will become weak and tired and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord, in his pardon, his compassion, his mercy, they will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. This glory that God is promising to us is giving power to those who are feeling powerless. Those who are feeling weak are being empowered by this glory, this mercy, this compassion, this forgiveness, this reaching down and saying, I see you crushed and I want you to be healed. I want you to be whole. Oh, that’s a beautiful, I don’t know, it’s a beautiful thought. Glory to God in the highest. Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
He goes on to say in chapter 60, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples. That’s a spiritual darkness. that people don’t want to know any more about Jesus. And the Lord will rise upon you and his glory will appear upon you. The nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising. Now, this has two meanings, both of Israel and of the church. And you know that nations… have been respectful of Israel. I know that you’re hearing the left saying, you know, destroy Israel and all the demonstrators. But we know the majority of the people appreciate and respect Israel. They are the greatest exporter of so many products, Kimberly. You know, the nuts, the oil, the wine, all that they’re growing from what used to be barren.
SPEAKER 02 :
I know.
SPEAKER 03 :
God’s glory is wilderness. That’s right. You see God’s glory probably when you go to Israel.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. Yes. Any who have visited Israel, it’s the most beautiful thing just to see the people. Oh, the people in Israel are beautiful. And kind and generous, generous people, when they are going to feed you, feed the tourists and feed the visitors that are there, they put tables and tables and tables and tables of their best in front of you. And you just feel like you’re feasting for breakfast and lunch and dinner. You are feasting. There is such a huge overflow of people. Amazing food products. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Just amazing foods. And they’re giving so generously to mostly most of the tourists that come. I want to say a high percentage anyway are Christians because Christians just really want to see the land that God had given his people. Yes. His his Israel, you know, this promised land. They want to see the land. And so they’re Many Christians come. What we don’t realize as Christians is that there is an underlying feeling and message that has been given to the Jewish people that the agenda to wipe them off the face of the earth is a Christian agenda.
SPEAKER 04 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 02 :
And we don’t realize that it really did look that way because Hitler was very much calling himself a Christian. He very much was calling churches alongside him to be in agreement with him. And he had churches signing up.
SPEAKER 03 :
Maybe at the beginning of his campaign to win over the world in 38 and 39. But Kimberly, I believe by 1943, 44, 45, he was so taken over by the enemy.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, of course he was.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don’t think he mentioned the Christian side.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. And I think that’s a lesson for all of us. You know, we can be so self-centered on our own agendas to make something happen that that’s how the enemy takes over is to get us focused on ourselves and our own agenda. And, um, but, but we can’t deny that he started out as a Christian.
SPEAKER 03 :
God is changing, you know, the minds of his people. Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that’s why I wanted to talk about it because it’s so exciting. Now we’re starting to understand each other more and we’re starting to see that the Jewish community is, well, first of all, being so generous toward Christians when they thought that Christians were their enemies. For many, many years, the generosity has just been pouring out. What a lesson we could learn from that. We need to be more like that. All of us generous to those who are our enemies. That’s exactly how Jesus taught us. He taught us to do good to those who harm us. He taught us to love our enemies.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, we have been generous to those that probably don’t respect us very much.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, and I’m talking very individually.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. The Christian.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. As individuals. I know I kind of flip back and forth between nations and individuals because I see it that way. The lesson is the same. The lesson of the glory of God and his forgiveness and mercy and compassion is on a national level and it’s on an individual level. His story for us as individuals plays out in nations. It plays out in the whole world. And then we can bring it right back into us and say, now, wait, I need to be doing my part and making sure that I forgive those who have hurt me, that I turn the other cheek. Wow, those beatitudes that Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount, those are tough. Those are hard. And yet we want to continue to practice those. in our lives. We want to continue to offer generosity, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, because that’s what God is doing in his glory. And he says that we will be filled with his glory. We, his people. Second Peter 1 3 tells us that his divine power has granted to us everything we need for life and godliness through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence. So he has called us by his own compassion and mercy and forgiveness. He has called us to be like him. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness. Being godly is practicing the same kind of compassion and mercy, forgiveness and pardon, loving kindness toward other people. And that is a hard thing to do. It’s not a very human thing to do. Humans have a hard time with the forgiveness and the loving kindness toward those who have hurt them. But we can ask God for help and he will help us. All we have to do is be willing. And he then comes alongside and grants us everything we need for life and godliness through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence. I love that scripture.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. It seems like when the angels said, Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. God brought about a transaction right there, Kimberly, to bring what you’re talking about, forgiveness and love in that forgiveness to all the people. Because before that, there had been a wall built up. And it seemed like impossible for people to meet in kindness and goodness toward each other. And then Jesus comes and God says, the wall has been torn down. We are all one. And you can read that in Ephesians 2 as well. But when Jesus came, he broke down all the walls of division. Yes. And the enmity against God. Yes. So what did God do to bring us to the point where we can forgive a little bit easier than they could in the Old Testament? Let me tell you.
SPEAKER 02 :
I hope. I hope we can.
SPEAKER 03 :
I hope so. I hope we’ve learned a little bit here.
SPEAKER 02 :
I hope that price that was paid does bring us to a place where we can forgive more easily. Yes. Because that was a huge price to give your only son.
SPEAKER 04 :
Mm hmm.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s big. That’s right. And for the sins that were before and were present and now in the future, when we are going to sin and Jesus forgave those too. Wow. It’s a great package. Salvation is a great package for people to get involved in. So if you don’t know Jesus as your Savior and Lord today, oh, Kimberly and I encourage you. to just take a moment and say, Lord Jesus, I want to make you my Savior. And not only that, Lord Jesus, I want to make you the master of my life from this day forward. And in that little confession, he forgives you and he sets you on a place in the heavenlies with Jesus at the throne of God. You can read that in Ephesians 2.4. And off we go. Off we go. It is by grace that you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourself, it’s a gift of God. And we must accept that salvation. You must accept that salvation. And now you are a child of God, loved by him.
SPEAKER 02 :
Those are words of comfort. Yes. Comfort. Comfort my people. Yes. Yes. Tell them their sad days are gone. Their sins are all pardoned and all forgiven. Wow. There is no measure to the depth of his love and his mercy and his forgiveness. There’s no way to measure it.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s right. And the Lord willing, tomorrow we’re going to delve into his glory and how it’s different from the glory of the Old Testament to the New Testament. It’s exciting, friend. It’s an exciting adventure to be part of the family of God. I’m so glad you’re a part of the family of God. And we rejoice in you making that decision. All it takes is a decision, Kimberly, making that decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he’s the only way to heaven. He’s the only way to God.
SPEAKER 02 :
He is. Yes. That’s glory. There’s glory in that. It sure is. And that kind of forgiveness, that kind of belief and faith and letting go of the things of this world to look forward to the things to come. That’s right. God bless you and keep you and take joy.
SPEAKER 01 :
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.
