In this episode of Call to Freedom, Barbara Carmack guides us through an exploration of spiritual growth, even amid life’s many challenges. Reflecting on a cold and quiet weekend, Barbara shares her insights on the concept of sanctification and transformation with lessons drawn from the Bible. Engage with the powerful teachings of 2 Corinthians about the uncovering of veils and the revelation of God’s glory, learning how God’s spirit grants liberty and renewal to all believers.
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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Welcome to Calda Freedom. You survived the weekend. You’re safe and warm. Oh, God is so good. And yeah, it’s like I was just kind of hibernating like a bear this last weekend. I was doing the newsletter for February and I was also watching some television. Bitter cold and a bitter loss, friends. But I’m so grateful I don’t depend on sports or those kinds of things to make me happy or blessed. And I’m so grateful God has taught me not to look at those things. Oh, first time this year I was shoveling snow today. I’m sure some of you were also. And we weren’t nearly hit as hard as the South. I mean, they got it, especially in Mississippi. Trees down and over into the roofs of houses. I know if my big tree in the backyard, my maple tree, ever crashed down well and one branch did crash down and it took $800 to remove it hello and so I’m just grateful that we don’t have things like that happening but I am just praying that those folks and even in Tulsa it was so cold I talked to Kimberly this weekend and And she said, oh, mom, there’s nobody out. I hear an ambulance every once in a while, but nobody’s out because that snow is just very unusual there and the inches that they got. So I’m just glad you’re well, you’re warm, you’re healthy. And it’s wonderful to know that you can be a mirror yourself. that brightly reflects the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within you, you become more and more like him. I’d like to talk a little bit with this story in the Old Testament about the maturity process, the sanctification process. We don’t start like that. When I was young, I was very immature. I did stupid things, and I had to learn by maybe mistakes or correction, discipline, And it’s that important, friend, that we look at our lives as a process that goes along for years and years. And hopefully we wind up better than we were when we began. But here in 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 16, and this is a believer’s heart. And whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Before you know the Lord, you have blinders on. Yeah, blinding you from the truth and from God’s love. And that’s why when you pray for a loved one, until their heart is given to the Lord, they’re going to have blinders on or a veil, as 2 Corinthians says here. A veil is on your face, in your eyes, so that you cannot really see what is going on in the spirit world. Now, the Lord is the spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Oh, praise God. But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord and the Spirit. So we know that as we grow, the Lord working in us, in us, you know, in Him we live and move and have our being. I might as well say that right now. So we know that we are growing up in him. It’s such a blessing to know that he loves me and he loves you so much that he’s going to work on you. Yeah, because when a person doesn’t love somebody else, they’re not going to take the time. They’re not going to take the time to teach or to dwell on something that might be a weakness in you. in you and they they want you to learn something but they’re not going to help you because they really don’t care and so i’m just thankful that the lord cares about his friend let’s do our monday bible slogan this is my bible i am what it says i am i have what it says i have I do what it tells me to do. This is my Bible. It has given me new life. It is the Word of God. Thank you, Father God, that my listeners are in you, they live in you, they move in you, and they have their being in you. And they are blessed to give into wonderful, good ground ministry and to give so that you can multiply back to them. Thank you so much, Father God. Thank you. I did want to tell you that the 10.15 p.m. program that’s on KLTT will be moved. It’s an experiment that Crawford is doing. It will be moved to 9 o’clock in the evening. So if some of you turn on 1015 and I’m not there, they’re having an experiment of a prayer time at that time of night for Crawford so that people can be in a prayer mode. Oh, I think it’s great before they go to bed. Just be praying and seeking God’s face. What a wonderful way to go to sleep. So 1015 will be changed to nine o’clock. And so I hope it works for you, and I hope it works for Crawford. Our memory verse for this week is in the New Testament. It’s Matthew 28, verse 20. I wanted you to get this because so many of us are fearful. We feel insecure. We feel like we’re all by ourselves alone in this terrible world. And we’re not. We’re not. And Jesus promised that right before he went to heaven. In Matthew 28, verse 20, he says, I am with you always. He’s talking to his disciples and he’s talking about them making people unsaved, unborn again people, disciples. And he says, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe everything that I’ve commanded you. And behold, or lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the earth. What a precious promise. I know that wherever I go, wherever sometimes you’re stuck and you don’t know how to get out of that situation, you just ask God, thank you God for making a way where there was no way. Thank you Father God for hearing my prayer and giving me an answer. So I can go freely on and do what I need to do. Sometimes we’re stuck in places. Well, like in traffic. Traffic’s a perfect example. You’re stuck there. And I just ask the Lord, thank you, Father God. Thank you for giving me a way where there was no way. Clearing out. all of the things that are obstacles. And pretty soon, we’re on our way. We’re gone. The Living Translation of Matthew 28, 20 says, Teach these new disciples, and that’s people that we bring to Jesus Christ, teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you, and be sure of this, says Jesus, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And from that moment, maybe a few more years, Words of advice, he went up into heaven, and he’s with the Lord God, seated at the right hand of God the Father. Praise the Lord. I got a really precious quote from St. Augustine of Hippo, from Selena. Thank you so much, Selena. You are a wonderful power partner, and I appreciate you there in Nebraska. Let’s I’m going to read this beautiful quote, and I think it’s right from the very heart of God to the heart of you who love him. It is it says to fall in love with God is the greatest romance to seek him the greatest adventure to find him the greatest human achievement. And after watching the playoffs yesterday, I can say with the greatest confidence, St. Augustine’s quote was the truth in every facet of a believer’s heart. Because even though I was disappointed at the score, you know, the snow was just coming down. And they were playing with a new quarterback, per se. He hadn’t thrown a pass all year. So I just want to tell you that, yeah, I was disappointed, but I wasn’t heartbroken either. I wasn’t sad that this thing happened. They’ve got more years, more years and and wonderful experiences ahead. So I just thank God that nobody was hurt. And we went on. We went on here. Augustine says, I’m going to quote this again. To fall in love with God is the greatest romance ever. to seek him the greatest adventure, to find him the greatest human achievement. The life of St. Augustine is very interesting. He lived in the 300s. That’s where some of the composers came from. And after being a scholar of many different areas of expertise, he delved into the reality of God being the most important thing in his life. He grew up and lectured in Carthage and Milan and, And later in life, at the age of 60, he took on the priestly or presbyter role of a church in Hippo. Hippo was a trading city without the wealth and culture of Carthage or Rome. The only thing I remember of Carthage is a gladiator when he was taken to Carthage and they were in those theaters where they were trying to kill them. the gladiators, so that’s the only thing I know about Carthage. And Augustine was never entirely at home there in Carthage or in Rome. He would travel to Carthage for several months of the year to get involved with the businesses that welcomed his array of talents. He was a great orator, and many scholars say his later years were spent in deep devotion to God, being on the spiritual level of Paul the Apostle. So as you know, I love to pick up quotes and things about God’s heart. I want to learn more about him. I’m like Paul, that I may know you, Lord God, in every facet of your personality, your magnificent personality. As you know, I usually don’t tell stories from the Bible because most of you have heard the stories since you were little children in Sunday school. You almost know them by heart. So today and this last weekend, as I was reading in Genesis about the life of Abraham and then Isaac and then Isaac and Rebecca and then Jacob, I realized what an interesting, interesting thing that I’m learning all this from these characters in the Bible. I’m learning about me. human behavior. That’s what I’m learning about. I’m learning about human behavior. I’m also learning about what God thinks about some of these actions that were taken. So let’s go into the early lives of Esau and Jacob, and you’ll go to Genesis 25. And they are, they are, were, they are, they were, were, They were a pair fighting even in their mother’s womb. And God himself told Rebecca, and this is recorded in Genesis 25. This is from God himself. The two sons in your womb will become two nations and the two peoples within you will become rivals. One people will become stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. And a promise from God himself. Those of you who have had children know that in your family, as much as you want them to get along, and I did in my family, and I know you did too, most of the time there was competition, there was jealousy, there were things that went on that were anti-characteristic of God. So it happens in our families. It happened in the Isaac household as well. And when they were born, Esau came out first with Jacob grasping his heel. So, you know, the womb is a very close quarters. This is where more Bible teachers go on a rabbit trail trying to tell everyone that Jacob was a deceiver. And Jacob can be translated heel grabber or supplanter. There is a real difference between deceiver and supplanter. And I’m going to talk about that. Even in the womb, Jacob was jostling for the right of the firstborn. Could it be that God had given him the innate behavior of divine order in the womb? He told Rebecca that the older would serve the younger. And do you think that maybe the younger knew this knew this from the prophetic creation that God gave him? When the boys grew up, Esau became a rugged outdoorsman and a hardy hunter. But Jacob was more contemplative, content to stay close to home. Isaac loved Esau because he was fond of eating wild game. Can you imagine? That’s why he loved him, because he was fond of eating wild game. But Rebekah dearly loved Jacob. And one day, and this is from Genesis 25, one day when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau returned from hunting and he was famished. smelling the aroma of food, Esau said to Jacob, I’m starving. Let me eat some of the red stuff you’ve got cooking. It reminds me of when I was shoveling snow through the storm, and I came into the house, I was making chili. Oh, and that smell was so good. I grabbed a little bowl of it when I came in before dinner. So smelling the aroma of food, Esau said to Jacob, I’m starving. Let me have some of that red stuff. And that’s why he’s called Edom. Edom is red, and so you know that he loved that red stuff, the lentils. And yes, Jacob said, yes, you can have some, but first you must trade me your birthright. Now, why would you blame Jacob for vying for a birthright that his mother Rebecca had told him he would have from a very early age? I’m sure she told him, Jacob, God is going to bless you because he told me that. that your brother Esau was going to serve you. I can see a mother doing that from an early age. Remember, God had told her that the younger would rule over the older one. And so why not have the birthright? That’s what Jacob was probably contemplating. And in verse 32, it says, Can’t you see I’m dying of hunger? Esau said, What good is the birthright if I’m dead? That’s what kind of value he put on the birthright. He was so flippant about the importance of this inheritance. And Jacob insisted, first swear to me that you’ll give it to me. So Esau swore an oath first. and surrendered his birthright to Jacob. Word of mouth was as good as a contract in those days. And really, Esau, when he, and Jacob gave Esau some lentil stew and bread. And when Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and walked away. He didn’t think any further about what he had done. He cared nothing about his own birthright. He didn’t try to finagle his birthright away from Jacob after his tummy was filled. He just walked away. Had God seen the intent of Esau’s heart, that it was always grasping for the worldly rewards instead of the heavenly rewards? See, God sees our hearts and focuses on our loyalty to him. And what Esau did here of not being important, this birthright not being important, gave it away to Jacob. And the footnote here, I love the passion. The passion has lots of footnotes. If you don’t have a passion yet, a passion translation, and I would get the New Testament first, the whole New Testament and the Psalms and Proverbs. And I believe the Song of Songs is also in the back of the passion here. And it has footnotes. If you would like to order one, you can go to ChristianBooks.com and order a Passion. And be sure you get the large print. In the footnote at the bottom of Genesis 25, the birthright refers to the right of the firstborn to inherit from the father a double portion. That’s a big bunch. You know, like if your father leaves a million dollars and you have a double portion of that. Wow. twice as much as the younger siblings inherit the firstborn. Jacob now rightfully possesses the rights and blessings of the firstborn, which included authority, headship, double portion inheritance, and the right to be the priest of the family. So that’s a lot of responsibility and a lot of honor. God identifies himself as the God, got to remind you, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of Abraham is God of promises fulfilled. He fulfilled his promise to Abraham. The God of Isaac is the God of inheritance and miracles. And that’s what he received from his father and his heavenly father. Miracles. And the God of Jacob will become Israel, a prince with God. And you’ll find it interesting that… He doesn’t say the God of Abraham, Isaac and Esau or the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph. As important as that story is, I find this story about Jacob so good. I learned so much from this. And he was a person that was immature, granted immature, as a lot of teenagers are. But when he realized that Esau was willing to give up his birthright for almost nothing at all, he took it. He took it. What if you had an older brother that didn’t want the car that was given to you by your grandpa who passed away? You would take it. I don’t want it. Can I have it? Well, sure. Go ahead. Take it. So… So and from Jacob comes Israel, Israel. We talk about Israel all the time. So God gives us the promise, but the promise requires a miracle to perform it. This miracle promise releases true transformation for Jacob and within the heart of man. He’s the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We are all born with a God-shaped vacuum in us that can only be filled with God. And I’ll tell you, some of us are too stubborn. It takes us a long while to give our hearts entirely to God. And others, they are so gentle in spirit and merciful. I mean, they just quickly give their hearts to God. We’re all different. So God treats each of us as our personality is. And here, the passion… Let’s go back to the deceiver theory. A lot of scholars and Bible teachers say that Jacob was a deceiver. And let’s just see what deceiver means. Deceiver means one who causes to believe what is not true, to catch in the act of deception, to practice deceit. And The word deceit is a fraud, no account, someone who is totally dishonest and a cheat. So one who causes to believe what is not true, to catch in the act of deception, and to practice deceit. Well, Jacob didn’t have any of this. He’s not a deceiver. by definition and now let’s look at what jacob means supplanter and in the noah webster dictionary it says to remove or replace or take the place by strategy there is a difference here from replacing by strategy and getting something through deceit deceit is what is false it’s fraud it’s unlawful it’s an act of taking wrongfully without the consent of the owner And in this case, the owner gave his consent. Esau gave his consent to Jacob. As long as I can have some of that stew. So the owner of the birthright is Jacob. It’s so good to study this. Knowing what she had heard from the Lord. Rebecca did everything she could to bring that prophecy into fulfillment. The older shall serve the younger. Esau had already shown a rebellious mindset by marrying foreign wives and causing heartache to Isaac and Rebecca. Genesis 27 verse 25 says she prepared a delicious meal. So Isaac went out to find some clothes. And then she prepared a delicious meal just the way his father loved it. And then Rebecca picked out the best clothes of her older son Esau and put them on her younger son Jacob. I’d never seen that. I mean, you know how many years I’ve been reading the Bible. And I did not remember that she picked out the best clothes of her older son Esau and put them on Jacob. Well, all of us have a certain fragrance, some an odor, right? And some smell that we have. And I know that’s why it’s interesting that when someone dies in your house, especially your spouse, you’ll go into the closet and you’ll smell his clothes, his jackets, his sweatshirts, because that’s his smell. And that’s what the older Jacob, he had a smell about his clothes, and she took his clothes and put them on Jacob’s. And she covered Jacob’s hands and the soft part of his neck with goat skins. Boy, he must have been a hairy man. Then she handed Jacob the tasty dish and the bread that she had prepared. And he took them to Isaac. Now, here it gets interesting. Jacob said, and Isaac replied, which one of my sons are you? And Jacob answered, it’s I. Okay, Esau, you’re firstborn. I’ve done what you asked. Please sit up, eat some of this delicious game that you love so that you may give me your innermost blessing. And Isaac asked his son, how in the world did you find games so quickly, my son? Yahweh, your God, caused it to come right to me, he replied. Now, Jacob said, your God, because he hadn’t yet committed himself to the full glory. blessing of God and trust in God. When he was young, you know, it’s like when I was young, I was in my early teens. I depended on my father’s commitment to God and his conviction to God. That’s where I learned about loving God from my dad and my mom. So when I was 1,200 miles from home, then I began to truly develop my own commitment to God. I didn’t commit to God when I was born again at eight years of age. No, I just was crying, and I said, I love you, God, and that was it. So I accepted Jesus as my Savior, and I didn’t have a whole lot of experience or commitment or conviction about who I was supposed to be or what I was supposed to do. And then my parents taught me, well, it’s the same way here. Jacob had grown up under his father’s covering, and he had… been a little I guess I could say deceitful towards his father because he didn’t tell him the truth but in essence he told him the truth here it is so Jacob inched closer to his father Isaac who felt his skin and said you sound like Jacob but your hands are Esau’s Because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s, Isaac was tricked and did not recognize that it was really Jacob. As he was about to give him his blessing, Isaac asked him again, Are you really my son Esau? Jacob answered, I am. Then bring the food to me and let me eat my son’s game. That was a lie. He was not Esau. He was Jacob. But he felt at an immature age that… He needed to bend a little in his truth. And haven’t we all lied? Haven’t we all lied about something or another? Stretch the truth, elasticize the truth? We have. And so here Jacob is very young. And I just have a little moment here. And I want to continue this story about Jacob because he flees from Esau out of fear. And he doesn’t see his mother. ever again, and his mother promised that he would see her again, but he never did. So those are some of the things, the consequences that we have to face when we are neglecting to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Oh, God bless you and keep you. Stay warm and take joy.
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