S1: Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: On this Freedom Friday. Man, we don't want the rocks
S2: calling out, so let's get our voice to it. We're
S2: asking you right now. Tools of transformation. Who or what
S2: has God used in your life powerfully? To watch God
S2: really alter some things in your life and make big
S2: steps in this relationship with Jesus Christ? Give us a
S2: call right now. We're going to go wide open phone
S2: lines for these next 20 minutes for sure. 855 five 7898.
S2: What is your story of transformation? What tool has God
S2: used to transform you on this Freedom Friday? Testify. You
S2: get a soapbox to tell a whole lot of folks 800, 555, 78, 98.
S3: You know, this one's a real recent development for me.
S3: And and I love even just the little bit of
S3: taken in so far. It's it's the Wild at Heart
S3: podcast by John Eldredge. And I've been listening. I started
S3: listening to his series on his new book, which is
S3: Experience God really? Because I think sometimes we don't expect
S3: to experience God the way that he wants us to.
S3: He read a quote that changed the way I look
S3: at things and convicted me a little bit. He said
S3: that it's not that we don't experience God like the
S3: disciples and apostles, because Jesus cared about them more or
S3: attended to them more than he does us. We don't
S3: experience God the way they experienced God because we don't
S3: attend to Jesus the way they did. And that was
S3: convicting for me.
S2: It's a great statement.
S3: Yeah. If I want to experience God, I have to
S3: be with him and attend to him like the disciples did.
S2: Love it. Good word. Jonathan, what's the name of that podcast?
S3: Wild at heart. Yeah.
S2: Really good. Great. Great brother. What do you say? 805
S2: 555 7898. Transformational Tools in Your Life 805, 55 7898. Joan.
S2: What do you say, Joan? In Ohio?
S4: Hello. Thank you. Um, the transformation tools in my life
S4: were two radio programs. One was focus on the family
S4: with Doctor James Dobson. And on his broadcast, he had, uh,
S4: for Nichols, the founder of Moms in Prayer International. Sharing
S4: of praying scripturally for your children and their schools. Talk
S4: about transforming lives, praying scripturally for children. Uh, it just
S4: changed my life. It's absolutely changed my life.
S2: That's beautiful. Isn't that great? I mean, the amount of
S2: transformational tools out there are, they're so diverse. There's so many.
S2: And we're asking you to champion them this morning. 805, 55, 7898.
S2: It's freedom Friday. Let's roll. Marshall in Florida, it looks like.
S2: What do you say, Marshall? Hello? Marshall. Yeah, I got you.
S2: Let's go.
S5: Yeah. All right, sir. Well, I was saved in 2009.
S5: I went through went into a ministry discipleship program called
S5: Loving Hands Ministries. And they provided a place to where
S5: I was able to get free from drugs and alcohol.
S5: I've been in addiction for many, many years, and this
S5: place has allowed me to come to fall in love
S5: with Jesus and become a disciple of Christ. And I've
S5: been free from drugs, alcohol for 14 years now, married,
S5: got three children, serve in my church. But most of all,
S5: I'm a disciple. I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. And
S5: I want to, you know, want to tell people about it.
S3: Marshall that's awesome bro, I love it.
S2: It's so beautiful. That is so beautiful. What's the fresh
S2: thing God's doing in your life right now, Marshall? on
S2: this path of discipleship.
S5: Well, he, um. We started a new thing for our
S5: church on Wednesdays. Um, we're going through a devotional called
S5: secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge. But most
S5: of all, he's showing me that my family, especially my
S5: children and my wife, are my, uh. That's my ministry.
S5: I mean, we're youth directors at our church, but, uh,
S5: just calling us back to disciple our actual our children.
S5: That's most important.
S2: Awesome. Marshall, you're a good man. Thank you for calling
S2: in from Florida. 800 555 7898. Beautiful man. Gabriel in Florida.
S2: What do you say, Gabe?
S6: Gabriel. Hello? Oh, this is. Yeah, this is this isn't Gabe.
S2: This is Gabriel. What do you say, Gabriel?
S6: Me?
S7: Yes. I was richly blessed by a book called Hope
S7: in the morning. M o u r n I n g.
S7: It is a biblical based book for those that are
S7: going through grief and have walked through extreme suffering. My
S7: husband got into the wrong friends, the wrong crowd, started
S7: using drugs and is currently incarcerated, actually being charged with murder.
S7: And the Lord, you know, stripped me of all my
S7: earthly security. My husband, my provider, everything. My home. But
S7: he has restored it all. And that book truly was
S7: just such an encouragement to me to hear the testimonies
S7: of believers who have suffered, who have walked through the
S7: valley and truly have seen the Lord's faithfulness on the
S7: other side.
S2: You're a rock star, Gabriel. You know what? I can't
S2: do this for everyone. But I want you to stay
S2: on the horn. I'm going to get you a Carlin
S2: crew prize pack, so stay on the horn. Gabriel. Gabriel,
S2: do you have children? Where are you at?
S7: I have, I have six children. Yes. I was pregnant
S7: with my sixth son when this happened in, um, November
S7: of 2023. And I decided to name him Gideon after
S7: judges chapter six. Gideon who tore down the temple that
S7: his father built to the false god Baal, and who
S7: rebuilt the temple. And God used mightily, um, through the
S7: through the failures of his father. Gideon was chosen. And
S7: that's the that's the name I chose for my youngest son.
S2: That's, you know, Gabriel, this is mind blowing. The kind
S2: of joy that you have in the Lord with the
S2: situation that you're in. This is all God's, sister. This is.
S6: 100%.
S7: 100%. Anything you get in, you see, good in me
S7: came from the Lord. That's the truth.
S2: What's. What's the situation with your man? He's looking. He's
S2: looking at life. Plus. Is that what he's looking at?
S7: He is. He is. So I reached out to my
S7: father in law to help us, um, to do an intervention, essentially. And, um,
S7: his his father, he is being charged in connection with, um,
S7: murdering his own father. And so I was grateful that
S7: I was able to escape that day with my children.
S7: The day that event, the event occurred. And the Lord
S7: has shown us great mercy since. But, um, it's been
S7: a very sobering time for us. And just looking at
S7: how the sin of others affects you and thinking through, um,
S7: just the faithfulness of the Lord, truly. And I do
S7: pray for my husband and that the Lord would, you know,
S7: bring true repentance for him. But currently, uh, that is
S7: what he's facing. That is what he's looking at. And I,
S7: I pray for him often, and so do my children.
S7: And I'm grateful for the pastors and leaders at my
S7: church who have faithfully walked my family through this, and
S7: thinking about those conversations with my children and what all
S7: that looks like. I mean, the Lord has been mightily
S7: merciful in all of that.
S2: Gabrielle, you are so inspiring. You know, I want to
S2: give you something here that the Lord's laying on my heart.
S2: I'm going to turn to it in Scripture, and I
S2: want you to hear me. Um, this is from Exodus 20,
S2: verse 20. Gabriel I. This is for you, sister.
S6: Thank you.
S2: You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or
S2: any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or
S2: that is in the earth beneath, or that is in
S2: the water under the earth. You shall not bow down
S2: to them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God,
S2: am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
S2: on the children to the third and fourth generation of
S2: those who hate me. Comma, comma. This for you, Gabriel,
S2: but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love
S2: me and keep my commandments. Gabriel, you know what you're doing, sister.
S2: You are breaking the chain.
S7: Praise the Lord.
S2: You are breaking the chain, Gabriel. And you are.
S6: Inspiring.
S2: You are inspiring to myself and so many tens of
S2: thousands listening right now. Gabriel.
S6: Oh, sister. Stay.
S2: Stay on the horn. What are the ages of your kids.
S2: What are the ages?
S7: Oh, my oldest is 15 and then I have an
S7: 11 year old. My daughter's the only girl. She's six
S7: and my son is four. He'll be five. I have
S7: a three year old and a one year old. My youngest. Gideon.
S2: Mhm. I got to tell you, Gabriel, you're taking my
S2: breath away, sister. Wow. This is sobering and beautiful. Stay
S2: on the horn. I'm getting you a call and crew
S2: prize pack.
S3: My goodness.
S2: If that doesn't rock your world. If that doesn't.
S3: Go get your pulse checked.
S2: Yeah. Somebody put your index finger on your neck and
S2: make sure you've got a pulse. Oh my goodness. We're
S2: going to spin a record here. What's your story on
S2: this Freedom Friday? What do you say? What's a tool
S2: of transformation? God's used in your life comes in a
S2: lot of different forms. 805, five, five, 78, 98, 805, five, five, 78, 98.
S1: A basketball mom who's mastered the dad joke. Ali is
S1: in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: You just heard a phenomenal story. I mean, peel paint
S2: story here from Gabriel, and she's in Florida. She's got
S2: six kids. Husband's incarcerated, looking at life plus for murder.
S2: And God has rocked her world by the power of
S2: the Holy Spirit. Some of you are asking, what's the
S2: book that she read? Hope in the morning. Hope in
S2: the morning. It's the name of the book. Wow. Incredible.
S2: Going back to the phone lines, what's that on this
S2: Freedom Friday? What's that transformational tool God has used in
S2: your life? Misty. First time caller. Tennessee. What do you say? Misty?
S4: Good morning guys.
S8: And, um, my tools. A little more unconventional than most,
S8: I would think, but it's my son.
S2: How has God used him?
S8: My son. Um. My son started going to attending church
S8: when he was in middle school, and he is now
S8: almost 30. And he and his wife, the walk that
S8: they have.
S6: It's just.
S8: Phenomenal. Phenomenal to.
S6: Me.
S2: And it's got mama.
S6: Cooking.
S2: Now too, right?
S8: Absolutely. I mean, I've always been a believer, but to
S8: watch my son and my daughter in law made me
S8: want to be and follow the way I should, the
S8: way God has intended me to. And my daughter in
S8: law gets up every morning and post on, um, her story.
S8: She reads a different book every single day. So when
S8: she's on posting and reading, I'm reading with her and
S8: I'm following with her Mr..
S2: Mom, Misty is going. God, how did you give me
S2: a daughter in law like this? And what did you
S2: do to my son? What a cool thing that your
S2: kids are. Are inspiring you to walk with Jesus. Misty,
S2: you are a blessed woman.
S8: Absolutely beyond. Blessed beyond.
S2: Way to go, Misty.
S8: And I thank God every day for giving my son
S8: the woman that he gave to her. I prayed for her.
S8: Please God, bring this woman into my life. And when
S8: he did, oh, oh.
S2: You didn't know her life was going to smack you
S2: upside the upside the head and go, let's go, mom,
S2: let's go.
S8: That's great, I didn't.
S2: Oh my goodness, Misty, first time caller in Tennessee. Thank
S2: you sister. Oh these stories. Oh I gotta rub my eyes.
S2: This stuff gets too good. Oh 800 555 7898 what
S2: tool of transformation is God used in your life? You've
S2: heard it all this morning. What tool of transformation has
S2: God used in your life? Give us a call right now.
S2: 800 555 7898.
S1: He was running from God, but God's love brought him home.
S1: Carl is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on
S1: Moody Radio.
S2: By the way, if you're looking for Carl and crew
S2: on Facebook or Instagram, be sure to put in Carl
S2: with the K, Carl and crew with a K and
S2: crew with a C. Some people think flip that around. Nope,
S2: it's Carl with a K. Check it out. Follow us.
S2: We got a lot of new stuff that's coming up
S2: here soon, and I want you to be positioned and
S2: ready to go. When we pull the trigger on this stuff.
S2: It's going to be a lot of fun taking your
S2: stories today. It's overwhelming. The stories that have come in today.
S2: This is why you want the show cast. We'll give
S2: you more details on that. But this is exactly why.
S2: In fact, we're going to put Gabriel front and center
S2: on the show cast for sure. Her story out of
S2: Florida epic. Taking your stories right now. Every story is
S2: powerful because it's God's work in you. Tools of transformation
S2: on this Freedom Friday. What does God used in your
S2: life to really change you? Rachel in Ohio. What do
S2: you say? Rachel?
S7: Hi.
S5: Um.
S7: So God is.
S9: God has used a lot of things to change my life, but, um,
S9: one of the biggest ones. So my story is quite
S9: a bit like Gabrielle's. Um, my ex-husband went to prison,
S9: and I was left with several children. Um, I was
S9: also an abuse victim. And so when that happened, I
S9: ended up turning to alcohol. Yeah. And I lost all
S9: five of my kids, and I was supposed to go
S9: into treatment, and I. As soon as I refused to go,
S9: God crashed my car and totaled it. And, uh, my
S9: dad just happened to be there to pick me up
S9: and detox me. And I got all five of my
S9: kids back, and, um, going back to school for missions
S9: is what I was originally going for, you know, 15
S9: years ago. So.
S2: Wow, Rachel, what a turnaround. What happened between losing kids
S2: and getting them back? There had to have been God
S2: at working you radically. They aren't given those kids right
S2: back to you.
S9: Oh, no. It took about two years and it was
S9: I mean, God still continually strips us of, you know,
S9: the things of this world to show us what's important.
S9: And even despite all the things I've done wrong, my kids,
S9: I still see God pulling them and pulling them.
S2: Yeah. Rachel, let me ask you a question, because you've
S2: gone through some tough stuff. How important is the Word
S2: of God in your life right now? That's got to
S2: be front and center, I would assume.
S9: Oh, huge. If I if I don't read my Bible,
S9: I the whole day is just off.
S2: Yeah. You know, I heard a stat recently, in fact,
S2: we used this a couple of years ago and I
S2: just want to use this. I suspected this with Rachel.
S2: People that are experiencing this kind of fresh streams of
S2: living water flowing through their soul. There's empirical data that
S2: proves this. You read the Bible one day a week.
S2: Not much change. Two days a week. Not a lot
S2: of change. Three days a week. Not a lot. You
S2: crest that four day a week, you start to get
S2: that higher percentage of in the word versus not in
S2: the word into you. Boom. Things begin to change. There
S2: is a direct line. There's a straight line between Bible
S2: reading consistently, being in the word and getting the word
S2: into you. This isn't about some pharisaical thing where it's like, yeah,
S2: I know the word man. I've been in the. Oh
S2: no no no no no, I'm talking about humbling yourself
S2: under God's hand, being in the word, getting the word
S2: into you. It's transformative. What's the fresh thing God's teaching
S2: you right now, Rachel from Ohio.
S10: Oh.
S9: All kinds of things. Um, continuing to trust is a
S9: big one. Especially I'm a single mom of five and
S9: you know my oldest is going to be 18. So
S9: they're starting to drive and move out. It's a whole nother.
S2: That's a whole nother world in your.
S9: Area of life.
S2: Yeah, yeah. Do you have help alongside you right now, Rachel?
S2: Do you have people that come alongside you?
S10: Oh, yeah. I have a beautiful church family.
S2: Wow, Rachel. You're awesome. Again, I can't give these to everyone,
S2: but I'm going to give away another one. Stay on
S2: the horn for Carl and crew. Prize pack. Sister, you
S2: need this in your house. Okay, so we're going to
S2: shoot it your way. You didn't. You didn't call to get.
S2: But you're getting it anyway. Way to go. Overwhelming stories
S2: of transformation. Overwhelming. Can God change where you're at today? Oh.
S2: Can he? You might say, Carl, I. I came here
S2: thinking that I've got some issues in my life, and
S2: those issues aren't diminished by hearing these stories today. What
S2: it does for you, is it? It gives you a
S2: breath of hope that says if God can minister to
S2: people transformative power in the situations that they're in, he
S2: can help me. That's exactly what the Spirit of God
S2: is doing in your life today. It's just awesome. Love's
S2: got away, man. This is Andrew Ripp, and boy, does
S2: it give us a call. Still taking stories of life change.
S2: Transformational tools 805 55, 7898.
S1: She's a choreographer extraordinaire, and everything is Greek to her.
S1: Super dei is in the crew. It's Carl and crew
S1: on Moody Radio.
S2: What up? What a freedom Friday. Tools of transformation. We've
S2: been asking you, what has God used in your life
S2: to transform you? And, I mean, this is this is epic.
S2: This is why we open up phone lines here, especially
S2: on Fridays. Uh, right here in Illinois. What do you say, Gloria?
S11: Um, dad used dance ministry and flag and banner ministry
S11: to totally transform, uh, all of everything related to ministry.
S11: And June 1st actually marked the 40th year that I've
S11: been involved in this, uh, which is really great.
S2: Let me tell you something, Gloria. Let me tell you
S2: something funny. I was in South Africa when I lived there,
S2: and I saw for the first time in my life
S2: in a European church in South Africa. I saw a
S2: dance ministry. And I'm like, what in the world is
S2: happening right now? Somebody call security? And then I realized, no, man,
S2: we got we got the David thing going on here,
S2: dancing before the Lord. Yeah, that was my first thought is, okay,
S2: who let these folks in here? Because they're coming down
S2: the aisles and they got banners going and everything, but boy,
S2: it was it was an expression of worship and. it
S2: was beautiful. Mary in Indiana. What do you say, Mary?
S12: Good morning. How are you?
S2: Great. What's your story, sister?
S12: Well, I wanted to say that I am a reader, and.
S12: But I had never read the Bible. And while I
S12: would go through it and read scripture, trying to support,
S12: you know, things that I wanted to support, but I
S12: never read it. And I realized that other books that
S12: I read, I read for understanding and trying to understand
S12: what the author was trying to say to me. And
S12: so one day, I decided that I was going to
S12: read the Bible with that intent to understand it, and
S12: it transformed my life.
S2: So cool. Mary. See, this is the stuff, man. It
S2: comes in so many different shapes and sizes. Thank you.
S2: Mary from Indiana. Getting an understanding of what the Word
S2: of God is saying. Getting something to illuminate. It's cool,
S2: by the way. Keep it pinned right here. I might
S2: have a couple of copies because I'm behind the curve
S2: of moody Bible commentary to give away. I just might,
S2: but not right now. Not right now. Jake in Florida.
S2: What do you say, Jake?
S13: Carl. Good morning. How you doing?
S2: I'm doing great, man. What's your story?
S13: I decided to sell everything back in 2018 with my
S13: wife and daughter, and we lived in our van and
S13: traveled around, and we were in Arizona, and I took
S13: a walk one day, and I felt the presence of Jesus.
S13: And ever since then, it hasn't stopped. I've been a
S13: believer and my family, our life has just been transformed
S13: from this experience. And ever since then, we've, uh, we've
S13: given our lives to God. And it's been wonderful.
S2: Jake, this is awesome. You know what you are? You're
S2: a transformed hippie, modern day hippie, Jake. That's what you are, man.
S2: That's awesome. Jake.
S13: He led us into the direction, and now we build, uh,
S13: vans and tidy homes for people who want to experience
S13: life on the road. So he he guided us to
S13: a path.
S2: Oh. That's awesome. How old are you, Jake?
S13: I'm 37 with four children.
S2: Oh, Jake, this is great. We got so many young
S2: people listening to this show now. This is so cool, Jake.
S2: Godspeed to you, man. Thanks for calling in. Oh my goodness,
S2: Paula in Florida, what changed your life? Hello, Paula.
S14: Are you thinking of Paulette?
S2: Oh, we got the wrong name. We'll go with Paulette. Sorry, Paula,
S2: we called you. I called you Paula. You're Paulette. We
S2: got you in Florida. What do you say, Paulette?
S14: Um, I want to tell you about a tool that
S14: has been very useful in my Christian walk. And it's
S14: a book by Sarah Young. I don't know if you've
S14: heard of her.
S2: Oh, yeah. Jesus calling.
S14: Calling. And I've been using that for 20 years, and
S14: it's really like my go to reference book. And it's
S14: a big help. And the other resource is Moody Bible Station.
S14: And I bought myself a second radio so that I
S14: could have that throughout the house at all times. And, um,
S14: it's a big resource to me. And I'm trying to
S14: put God first. But this morning it was difficult because
S14: my cat had a fur ball and I had to
S14: deal with that first, but I had to get back
S14: to it. I tried to have my devotions first, and, um,
S14: today I just had to adjust because that's what happened.
S14: I had to deal with that big furball.
S2: Paulette. Paulette, you crack me up, sister. Only a cat
S2: owner would know that that that a fur ball could
S2: take away from a devotional. But hey, fur balls happen, man.
S3: They happen. You gotta deal with them.
S2: Yeah, sometimes I cough so much, I think I'm going
S2: to have a fur ball.
S3: That's concerning.
S2: I'm just wondering what you were going to say to that.
S2: I don't have your calls. Right. Taking your calls right now.
S2: 800 555 five, 7898. What's your transformational tool? Oh, it's great,
S2: a great devotional and moody radio right after the fur
S2: ball is cleared. Give me a call right now. 800
S2: 555 7898.
S1: He was sharing the gospel on the radio and then
S1: he got saved. Young thunders in the crew. It's Carl
S1: and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Carl and crew on this Freedom Friday celebrating transformational tools.
S2: Keep those calls pouring in. 800 555 7898 Tonya first
S2: time caller in Tennessee. What do you say, Tonya?
S15: Um, I just wanted to call and share. God is
S15: really transforming my life, and I'm thankful I grew up
S15: in church, but I ran from God because things happened
S15: as a child that I didn't understand. And, um, I've
S15: been through a lot of abuse, and I had PTSD
S15: so bad I wouldn't leave my home. And so my
S15: church has this ministry celebrate recovery. You've probably heard of before. And, um,
S15: I started a study last year, and I worked through that, uh,
S15: writing down everything in my life, just taking a look
S15: at it. And I was so thankful for the step
S15: study group I was in. The women were just all
S15: very encouraging and pointing each other to Jesus. And we
S15: worked through all of those steps. And and then we
S15: have something to also called freedom ministry at our church. And, um,
S15: it's a deliverance ministry. They help me to look at
S15: the strongholds in my life. Fear was the main one,
S15: especially with what I have experienced in my life, that
S15: there was so much and they we broke those strongholds
S15: and they helped me with that list of people. And
S15: I was on that list. I needed to forgive myself.
S15: So I've been writing forgiveness letters, and it's just been
S15: so there's been so much freedom that I found in
S15: that and finding who I am in crossed again.
S2: Tonya, that is so cool. Yeah. Shame what Satan's trying
S2: to do there is he's trying to pound you with shame.
S2: He's the accuser and the deceiver, and so he will
S2: deceive us into taking bait. And then he smacks us
S2: upside the soul when we take it. And we've got
S2: to be able to detach that choice that was made
S2: there from our true identity in Christ. And Tonya, I'm
S2: so glad you're getting free, sister. We love you. Thank
S2: you so much for calling in today, Tonya. First time
S2: caller from Tennessee. Wow. I'm telling you, man, God is
S2: on the move. Uh, if you aren't getting that out
S2: of today, you're missing it. Like the broadside of Mccready's barn. Yeah. Wow. Wow.
S2: Taking your calls, we got time to get a couple
S2: more in here. 805, five, five, 78, 98 on this
S2: Freedom Friday. What's the transformational tool God has used in
S2: your life?
S1: Your shot of hope to help you through the day.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: On this Freedom Friday, we're celebrating tools that transform. Get
S2: up on the soapbox. Share your story. What are you
S2: grateful to God for? Some tool of transformation that God's
S2: used in your life mightily. 800 555 7898 Jeremiah in Michigan.
S2: Take it away, my man. What's your story?
S16: Um, well, I was adopted at a very young age, um,
S16: by a very Christian family. Um, my parents were awesome
S16: all through my life, praying for me always. My dad always, um,
S16: pretty much keeping it all about Jesus. Um, little, um.
S16: He always prayed Jacob's prayer over us as kids going
S16: to bed, and, um, he never takes the same way
S16: back from going to a trip. And I always wondered
S16: why he always said, no, no, don't take the same
S16: way you came, take a different way back. And I
S16: listened to the Bible app. And in somewhere in First
S16: Kings or second Kings. It talks about not taking the
S16: same way you came and I and I called my
S16: dad and I said, that's where you got that from.
S16: And he just kind of laughed and he said, yeah. So, um,
S16: really the best resource would be the Holy Spirit would
S16: be God, because all, all good things are his are
S16: his good ideas first. Right? So.
S2: Amen, brother. Amen. Jeremiah. What a dad you have, huh?
S16: Man, he's he's so awesome. He's awesome. Shout out to, uh,
S16: Rick Vanderwoude. He's listening, he's listening. He listens to you
S16: guys all the time. But, uh, really just just an
S16: awesome man.
S2: So how old are you, Jeremiah?
S16: I am 34.
S2: 34. If you're forgetting your age right now, dude, it's
S2: going to get worse as you get older because you're
S2: young enough.
S16: Well, I did, uh, I went through a about a
S16: decade of hard drug use, and, uh, and I'm coming
S16: out of the the I'm I'm on three years outside
S16: of that now. So, um, my dad was with me
S16: through all of it. You know, he. He prayed with
S16: me and and always supported me. And now he kind
S16: of runs a home ministry at his house for for
S16: guys that are looking for the same thing and just
S16: pointing them all to Jesus. That's so.
S2: Cool.
S16: That's so cool. I relate a lot to, um, to
S16: that guy about the tattoos and things like that. I
S16: have a cover up myself of of a brand that
S16: I had of of of my own. So, uh, I
S16: texted Inc. I'm looking forward to connecting.
S2: So right on Jeremiah. You're a good you're a good brother, man.
S2: Thank you for calling in this morning. But we've got
S2: something for you right now. I'm blown away at how
S2: many people want to know where they stand with God
S2: and get a tool of transformation. We got something really
S2: interesting today. I didn't know that people would grab it
S2: like this. I should have known. When you ask people
S2: take a quiz to learn about yourself, it's an awesome thing.
S2: Whether it's Myers-Briggs disc, you name it, whatever it is,
S2: and we've got something that's going to help you spiritually
S2: pin Pinned down one of seven areas that you need
S2: to grow in most and cheer for you in an
S2: area where God's really doing a work. This is a
S2: great little tool, comes right out of the seven resolutions,
S2: and we actually work this up. A couple of years ago,
S2: had a organizational psychologist form a quiz. Gary Chapman told me,
S2: you got to have a quiz, Carl. You got to
S2: have a quiz. So it's a great little tool because
S2: it helps people launch a discovery process that is really awesome.
S2: And some of you feel stuck today identifying where you're
S2: stuck and opening up kind of the portal to wow,
S2: this is how I can walk forward. It's a pretty
S2: good little tool and we've had hundreds of these things already.
S2: Head out the door.
S3: Yeah, I'm really excited about this because sometimes you can
S3: feel stuck, but not necessarily know where that feeling is
S3: coming from. You know, it's like, oh man, something's wrong.
S3: But I just can't tell what I need to work on.
S3: This quiz will really help you identify that, I think
S3: it's worth checking out. It really only takes five minutes
S3: to get a really good, accurate reading of your best
S3: area and your area for most growth needed, and so
S3: just text the word quiz to 855 five, 78, 98.
S3: That's 805 five, 578, 98. Just the word quiz.
S2: Yeah. If you you might come up here's here's let
S2: me give you kind of seven buckets to think in.
S2: You might come up realizing, man I'm lacking essential spiritual discipline.
S2: So I'm missing out on hearing the voice of God.
S2: Or I'm not mindful of who I am in Christ.
S2: And that's an area that I really need to grow.
S2: It might be that God says there's something that's been
S2: hiding in the shadows. It's just eating your lunch. That
S2: sin thing that's holding you back could be that you
S2: got the wrong friends around you to go where God
S2: wants to take you. Whatever it is. Text the word
S2: quiz right now to (800) 555-7898. We'll get it out to you.
S2: Quiz to 800 555 7898. We can't get everyone who's
S2: calling in. And I'm sorry. It's hard. We got so
S2: many of you that are teeing it up here today,
S2: but we're grateful for those that we can get in here. Paula,
S2: first time caller from Florida. What transformational tool has God
S2: used in your life to give you freedom?
S4: Thank you. It was my brother in law who graduated from.
S17: Moody, became the pastor, and transformed my life from being
S17: a Catholic to understanding for the first time that Jesus
S17: took everything that I had done and I had messed
S17: up a lot, and that just floored me. The other
S17: thing was, I would say the main thing that happened
S17: in the last few years was suffering when we had
S17: a great ministry. My husband and I, we became accidental developers,
S17: helped a lot of people who all turned on me
S17: right after my husband died, and many of them were Christians.
S17: That was surprising, but that transformed me to really seeking
S17: the Lord, and he gave me scriptures. During that time.
S17: I had to get lawyers and it was tough.
S2: Yeah.
S17: That's hard. I think suffering was the thing that really
S17: got me serious.
S2: Yeah. I want to give you a Psalm here today.
S2: And for some of you that feel like, man, you're
S2: getting smacked around. Um, there are some psalms. Just bang.
S2: It's like when you read it, you're like, yes. Sometimes
S2: you might go through some betrayal or some something that
S2: you've gone through and you're like, God, why in the
S2: world is this happening? Listen to this in Psalm 112.
S2: I'm going to read it to you very short Psalm
S2: praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
S2: who greatly delights in his commandments. His offspring will be
S2: mighty in the land. The generation of the upright will
S2: be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and
S2: his righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness for
S2: the upright He is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is
S2: well with the man or woman who deals generously and lends,
S2: who conducts their affairs with justice. For the righteous will
S2: never be moved. He will be remembered forever. He is
S2: not afraid of bad news. As hard as firm, trusting
S2: in the Lord. His heart is steady. He will not
S2: be afraid until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
S2: Listen to this. He has distributed freely. He has given
S2: to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn is
S2: exalted in honor. The wicked man sees it in his anger.
S2: He gnashes his teeth and melts away. The desire of
S2: the wicked will perish. Here's the point. Outlive those around you.
S2: Outlive those around you. The greatest thing that you can
S2: do in betrayal is to live righteously, and God will
S2: handle the rest.
S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: What if you've been branded with an identity that is
S2: far from what God wants to do in your life.
S2: What do you do if you've got? What do you
S2: do if you've got gang symbols or signs or numbers
S2: tattooed on your bod? But you gotten out of that thing.
S2: What do you do if you've been branded with your
S2: pimp's name and his ID? What do you do if
S2: you've been branded with a barcode because you're a sex
S2: trafficked girl and you're a survivor? What do you do now?
S2: You know what the feds do? They call my friend
S2: Chris Baker. No joking. Award winning documentary on Inc. 180. Details.
S2: Coming up. You're going to want to hear this.
S1: You're listening to Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Carl and crew on this Freedom Friday. We're celebrating a
S2: whole week of tools of transformation. And if you take
S2: Tools of Transformation and combine that with this principle of
S2: spiritual freedom, boy, have I got someone for you. Chris
S2: Baker Bakers, founder of Inc. 180, Inc.. 180 is a
S2: powerhouse ministry in a way that you would never imagine.
S2: You might get it by the title. Chris Baker transformed
S2: by God. Did you ever imagine God would have you
S2: where you are today when he saved your soul?
S18: Absolutely not brother, I can't I still can't believe it.
S18: 14 years later.
S2: It's crazy man. All right, so back up. You were
S2: radically altered by Jesus Christ. Give us that story. And
S2: then what in the world God brought you into? It
S2: starts with the feds, and then it goes beyond there.
S2: Take it away.
S18: Yeah. So I always believed in God. I grew up
S18: in a household with my mother, who was, uh, from
S18: Northern Ireland. And, you know, she dragged me to church
S18: as a kid, and I just I didn't pay attention,
S18: you know, and. Right. I as a teen growing up
S18: in South Central Los Angeles, um, I kind of ran
S18: as far away from God as I could and just
S18: thought I had all the answers. And, you know, growing up,
S18: I lost 17 friends to gang violence in LA. I
S18: was never involved, but all my friends were. By the
S18: time I turned 18, I'd been shot and stabbed twice
S18: and lost my best friend Dante. 21 years ago and
S18: moved my family to Chicagoland and through a series of events,
S18: ended up in a Christian counselor's office. And she prayed
S18: for me, and my wife and I encountered the Holy
S18: Spirit in my counselor's office and went to church the
S18: next morning. Six months later, I was on top of
S18: a mountain in Haiti, helping my church build a school.
S18: I'm trying to serve as much as I could in
S18: any way that I could locally, you know, abroad, whatever
S18: it was, and really just started praying and asking the Lord,
S18: you know, Lord, I'll do whatever you want me to do.
S18: I tried to do it my way for 38 years,
S18: and I found out that that was a terrible idea.
S18: So I'll do whatever you call me to, um, for
S18: the rest of my life. And in 2011, we were
S18: blessed with the calling of Inc 180. Although I didn't
S18: really listen to it at first because my my initial
S18: reaction to the Lord telling me, go do what you
S18: love to do more than anything and do it for
S18: free to help people that are trying to change their lives.
S18: You know, I walk into a church to this day
S18: and I have, you know, I have 131 tattoos that
S18: I chose to place on my body. And I love
S18: them all. They tell my story. But, you know, when
S18: I walk into a church, I see people, you know,
S18: women kind of grip their purse or walk around where
S18: I'm at to get where they're going.
S2: And you're a big you're to be fair, Chris, you're
S2: a big dude too, man. So you got a guy
S2: with a few tats who's a big dude and it's like, hey,
S2: it's very clear. This guy.
S18: Yeah, absolutely. And and I own that, you know, it
S18: was my choice. So, um, but, you know, he called
S18: me to it. And initially in 2011, we just started
S18: with removing gang tattoos. You know, we moved from South
S18: Central Los Angeles to southwest Chicago. And, you know, that's
S18: how I learned that the Lord has a great sense
S18: of humor because I thought I was leaving all that
S18: stuff behind when I left LA with my family. Yeah,
S18: just started trying to help people one at a time.
S18: You know, it's the whole theory of the one over
S18: the 99. And the ministry has greatly expanded over the
S18: last 14 years, and we work with state, local, federal
S18: authorities and help sex trafficking survivors who were branded by
S18: their pimps or traffickers with tattoos.
S2: Yeah. Now it's right there that I want us to
S2: slow down, because I think a lot of people hear that.
S2: And when I first heard this, I thought I'd heard
S2: it all. And you know my story. I got delivered
S2: from cocaine, I ran hard. I've never had a tat
S2: in my life, Chris, but I feel like God put
S2: a God, put a tattoo on my heart of salvation, man. Amen.
S2: And and it's it's one of the coolest things ever.
S2: I mean, I give all praise and glory to God,
S2: but a lot of these people, and this is what's wild.
S2: You got called by the feds to help people. Some
S2: were in gangs, some were being sex trafficked. Explain what's
S2: going on there, because a lot of people don't know
S2: what's happening.
S18: And it's crazy how those two worlds co-mingle, too. But
S18: you know, when people are in gangs, that's their their,
S18: their life. That's what defines them. And they love to
S18: have those tattoos all over their face and hands and
S18: neck and and the minute that they're out of that world,
S18: it's the first thing that they want gone. But sex
S18: trafficking survivors are almost always branded by their pimps or
S18: traffickers with names. You know, the pimps name barcodes to symbolize, hey,
S18: you're just a piece of product I could buy, sell, trade,
S18: or throw you away whenever I want. Um, we also
S18: see a lot of gang symbols branded on trafficking survivors
S18: or victims, because gangs are very involved in trafficking, and
S18: it's a very lucrative business for them. I love our
S18: our federal, state and local authorities, but when it comes
S18: to sex trafficking, it's an ever changing landscape. And unfortunately, Uh,
S18: and this is no slam on our local law enforcement.
S18: They're just behind the eight ball on how to investigate
S18: this stuff and shut it down, because it's constantly changing.
S18: And in a city like Chicago, where violence is such
S18: a huge part of the equation, unfortunately, that's where the
S18: focus is.
S2: Okay. Coming up, Chris Baker, my guest. He is the
S2: founder of Inc. 180 and an amazing man of God.
S2: Big award winning documentary documentary done on Inc 180 that
S2: was on TLN. Uh, we're going to have links for
S2: you coming up, but I want more details and stories
S2: of transformation from the inside out. Hang on.
S1: Your shot of hope to help you through the day.
S1: This is Karl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: My guest on this Freedom Friday. Tools that transform you
S2: put freedom and tools that transform together. And what do
S2: you have? You got Chris Baker in Inc 180 tattoo
S2: artist that has been used mightily to help cover up
S2: not only gang symbols, but also So barcodes and pimp's names.
S2: That's almost hard to believe. Chris, for the average person,
S2: I thought I'd seen it. Heard it all. But this
S2: is brutal. These guys, Brandon, Brandon, these precious girls. Give me.
S2: Give me a story. Um, let me back up. You
S2: were first asked by the feds to come in. Was
S2: that kind of a wild thing for you to be
S2: contacted by them saying, hey, can you do cover ups
S2: for us? What were they? What were they asking you
S2: to do?
S18: Yeah, it was actually it was crazy. It still is
S18: to me to sit and think about it, but I
S18: actually had a federal agent that showed up at my
S18: church when I was asked to speak. My pastor asked
S18: me to give an update on Inc. 180, about six
S18: months into doing the work, and he happened to be
S18: there that day. And of course, we know God does
S18: everything for a reason, but he came running up after
S18: me in the parking lot after church that day and
S18: asked me to come speak to their gang unit. He
S18: set up a meeting for us about two weeks later,
S18: and that morning he called me and asked if their
S18: trafficking team could sit on it. I thought he was
S18: talking about drug trafficking because I had very, very little
S18: knowledge of sex trafficking at that point. But that day
S18: changed my life. They spent about three hours giving me
S18: a very high level understanding of what it looks like
S18: in this country and beyond, and asked me if I
S18: would be willing to expand the ministry to help trafficking survivors.
S18: And I was like, how could you possibly say no
S18: to something like that?
S2: It's just it's breathtaking. Give me a story of a
S2: young lady. Obviously, you're going to withhold her identity, but
S2: give me a story of something that happened that you're like,
S2: the boom crew needs to hear this.
S18: Well, actually. Perfect timing. I just had a situation. So
S18: three years ago, I was out at the Super Bowl
S18: in Phoenix helping state, local and federal authorities and other
S18: nonprofits with the search for victims around the Super Bowl.
S18: And I was doing removals and cover ups down there
S18: as well. I was in the FBI office in downtown Phoenix,
S18: and they brought in a ten year old little girl.
S2: And, uh. Come on, man, please.
S18: Yeah. And this, it just gets worse and worse. But, uh,
S18: this this little girl was trafficked by her own mother
S18: for drug money for two years, 10 to 15 times
S18: a day. And when they brought her in, it just
S18: absolutely knocked me sideways. I'll never say that. I've heard
S18: it all. I've heard a lot. But this one, um,
S18: they will all affect me for the rest of my life.
S18: Every story, every every client that I've been able to, uh,
S18: be a part of helping. But this one in particular, um,
S18: my wife and I, we do emergency placements for foster
S18: care while they're lining up more long term places. And
S18: I immediately went to, we have to adopt this little
S18: girl and help her get through the rest of her life.
S18: And fortunately for everybody, especially the little girl, she was
S18: actually just adopted by her caseworker and her her caseworkers
S18: husband is also a caseworker. Um, I was part of
S18: a zoom call with the courthouse in Phoenix about a
S18: week and a half ago, where they finalized her adoption,
S18: and for the first time, I got to see her
S18: face because when they brought her into me to remove
S18: the dollar sign tattoo between her thumb and her forefinger,
S18: she was wearing big baggy sweatpants and a hoodie with
S18: the drawstrings pulled real tight and I could barely see
S18: any of her face. The only thing that she said
S18: to me as I removed the tattoo off of her
S18: tiny hand was, thank you. When I finished, and to
S18: see her face, to see the vibrancy and the life
S18: back in her face for the first time absolutely was
S18: a gift from God to see that. And I will
S18: always remember her face, her story. But I'm excited to
S18: stay in touch. I've become friends with her now adoptive family,
S18: and just to be able to be blessed to see
S18: her life transformed in a radical, amazing, beautiful way.
S2: Chris Baker, my guest right now, he's the founder of Inc.
S2: 180 God is doing something amazing. You don't charge for
S2: any of these removals or cover ups, do you?
S18: No, not a thing. And my my accountant thinks I'm
S18: crazy because we, you know, we always keep track of, hey,
S18: what would this have cost if we had charged for it?
S18: And we've given over $1.6 million in free services away
S18: in the last 14 years. And I love it because,
S18: you know, when they ask me, they're like, what's the catch?
S18: I'm like, there's no catch. Jesus paid for it already.
S18: And that's the bottom line.
S2: Chris, I love you, hot dog. I love you so much, man. Um,
S2: give us one more story. I'm not letting you go. What?
S2: What's God doing? Yeah.
S18: So much. I mean, I just literally just got back
S18: from Denver, Colorado. Um, I had a number. I had
S18: 29 trafficking survivors out there that I went to do
S18: removals for, but also had a friend of mine who
S18: does full time prison ministry. And he had he had
S18: a young man who was a former gang member from Louisiana,
S18: now lives in Denver. Um, he was arrested and charged
S18: with murder. He was facing 123 years in prison. And, um,
S18: DNA evidence proved that he didn't do it, but he
S18: had a number of gang tattoos. He had 16 different
S18: tattoos on his body. And when I was out there
S18: this last week doing trafficking removals, I got the opportunity
S18: to sit with him and start the process of removing
S18: his tattoos. And I'll be going out there every month
S18: for the next 5 to 6 months to continue that
S18: process for him until it's done. But, you know, a
S18: lot of people look at what we do and they're like, oh,
S18: that's so great that you're able to remove those tattoos
S18: so they can go get a job. And yeah, it is.
S18: That's a that's a big part of it. But really
S18: the best part of what I get to do is
S18: I get to watch Jesus work inside people. You know,
S18: I often tell folks that Jesus works on their heart
S18: and their soul, and I work on their skin, and
S18: we try and meet in the middle. And, you know,
S18: through that, it's just a lot of listening. You know,
S18: the folks that I get to help, that's all they
S18: really want. They want someone to listen to them and
S18: not try to solve their problems. Because that's not my job.
S18: That's Jesus's job. And but just to to hold space
S18: for them and give them a place where they can
S18: be heard and be seen. And just to sit and
S18: listen to this young man's story was incredible. And we
S18: shared a lot of similarities in our life. You know,
S18: we've had a lot of pain. We've had a lot
S18: of loss. Um, but just to sit and be able
S18: to do that with him was really cool and get
S18: to start this relationship. I don't have clients. I have
S18: a lot of friends.
S2: Chris Baker I it feels like the Spirit of God
S2: is moving this ministry further down this road, and it
S2: seems like the avenue is getting wider and your touch
S2: points are getting. Uh, it's just it's overwhelming. I don't
S2: even have words to put to what God is doing
S2: through you, my man.
S18: I feel the same way. You know, I tell people
S18: all the time, the Lord lets me play in some
S18: pretty amazing sandboxes.
S2: Yeah, it's it's crazy what God has done in and
S2: through you. Again, Chris Baker, founder of Inc. 180. And
S2: here's what I want to do. Chris is a great communicator,
S2: and I want you to consider inviting him to an
S2: event that you have. Could be student ministry, could be
S2: a weekend service, could be a midweek prayer time. I
S2: don't know what it is, but I want to give
S2: you a link that's going to put you on to
S2: Inc 180 and actually his speaking page. There's other pages
S2: that you can get to because as you heard, he's
S2: he gives away these services for free and could be
S2: the Spirit of God is prompting you to throw some
S2: shekels his way and say, Godspeed to you, my man.
S2: You're doing God's work. Just text the word inc right
S2: now to 800 555 7898. Just that one word Inc
S2: I k to 800 555 7898 800 555 7898.