The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - 10 Bible Verses on Fear

Episode Date: March 27, 2020

Fear is all around us as we face this global pandemic, but the Lord does not want us to worry, he wants us to trust. Jeff looks up ten Bible verses on fear that can help us look to the Lord as our help, instead of relying solely on ourselves. Get the shownotes by texting "jeffcavins" to 33-777

You're listening to the Jeff Kaven's show, episode 159, 10 Bible verses on fear. Hey, I'm Jeff Kavins. How do you simplify your life? How do you study the Bible? All the way from motorcycle trips to raising kids, we're going to talk about the faith and life in general. It's the Jeff Kaven show. And we meet again under Baxter. different circumstances, right? With all that is going on in the world, many people are dealing with fear. And of course, I'm talking about the coronavirus, which has really gripped the world. And as a consequence, there's a lot of fear out there. And there's a lot of mystery and a lot

of unanswered questions. And many people in the United States at the time of this broadcast are actually quarantined. They are quarantined because of some kind of contact with. the flu or the virus, or it may be just that the governor of their state has said, you can't leave the home except for things that are necessary. Well, I thought I would take care of that topic of fear a little bit, at least today, by giving you 10 of my favorite Bible verses on the subject of fear. Before I do that, let me tell you about a few things that are going to be happening in the next few weeks or so. And if you're listening to this way, out there in the future. We're talking today about the coronavirus, and specifically, I'm talking

from March 27th, March 27th, 2020. And we've got some real special things planned for you, and I just want to go through that real quick, before we look at the verses today that I think are going to be an encouragement. I'm going to be doing several things with Ascension on Ascension's Facebook. It's live. And it's going to be starting tonight. That is, tonight the 27th, I'm going to begin a series, begin a series for you, and that series is going to be walking toward eternity. And we are going to be really talking for about a half an hour every night for eight nights. And I'm going to give you the schedule here. We're going to be talking on these very important topics. We're not going to just learn about them, but we're going to ask the questions, what do we do? How do we walk,

given this particular aspect of fear or anger, whatever it might be? I'm going to begin 7 o'clock tonight at Central Time, 8 Eastern on the Ascension Facebook Live, and I'm going to give an introduction to what we're going to be doing. Now, you'll have an opportunity to get a PDF if you would like, and then I'm going to talk about prayerfulness, and that's going to be on the 30th. of the month, March 30th, and then April 3rd, Friday, April 3rd, we'll be talking about fear, and then the next week, it'll be Monday and Friday, it'll be a sacrifice and suffering along with anger, then the week after that, hopelessness, loneliness, and finally love. And so we're going to take a deep look at those topics.

In addition, we're going to be doing the Bible timeline, absolutely free. You can join us. It's going to be on the same Ascension live Facebook, and we're going to be doing that starting the 31st on Tuesday and Thursday. So for two weeks, Tuesday and Thursday, we're going to have at 7 p.m. That is 8 Eastern. We're going to have going through the Bible in a month. And I'd like you to join me. Now, I am not going to just teach. Let's just go over this again. I want to do this. with the coronavirus in mind. In other words, tackle the Bible from the perspective of going through a difficult time. So I think if you've ever gone through the Great Adventure Bible study, this is basically going to be like four, one hour, and 15 minute talks, if you've ever gone through it before, I encourage you, get your friends on board to go through the Bible with me. and I think it's going to be very, very rewarding. So I'll put all that in the show notes for you so that I usually say you don't have to

pull over, but many of you are not pulled over. You are in your home, you're in your office cabin, wherever you happen to be. Hey, let me just say this also, before we look at these scriptures on fear. You know that, and I mean this as a word of encouragement, we've been training for this. We have been training for this. many of you are locked up at home. You're with your family, with your children, you're still trying to conduct business, or you're thinking about getting a job because you lost your job, right? There can be a lot of things that happen in the home when people are quarantined.

There can be arguments. There can be tension. There can be space issues. There can be temptations, for example, on the web. There's a lot of things that can happen in in a person's life. And I just want to encourage you, you have been training for this. This now is the time, not to simply consume the faith, but to do it. We are in the ring. We're on the battlefield. And perhaps you long for boot camp, right? Well, we're not there. We are in the war. And so I encourage you to be the leaders, be those that console and comfort and speak the truth and are gentle, grab everything that you have learned and bring it to the battle and walk in it.

And this is how we can get through it and grow with our relationship with the Lord. Just a word of encouragement for you. All right, I'm going to encourage you today with 10 verses that I think are powerful when it comes to dealing with fear. Some of them will go a little bit deeper into, and some of them will go over rather quickly. but I want you to have these. And I've got my big glass of water next to me here, drinking a lot of water during this time,

and trying to incorporate a little bit of fasting into it as well. Okay, number one, 2 Timothy 1-7. These will be in the show notes for you. 2 Timothy 1-7. There's a great Bible verse dealing with fear, and it really accents this idea that God gives you self-control. He gives you self-control. 2 Timothy 1-7 says,

for God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and love and self-control. Now, that's a beautiful verse that God gives us a bit of self-control. And isn't that something that we need desperately in these times? We need some self-control. Now, what am I thinking about there? Well, as you are quarantined or as you are not at your regular place, we need to make sure that we have self-control when it comes to the news. I really mean this. My wife said to me the other day, turn off the news. We've had enough. Let's get on with our lives. Let's not just sit here and look at the news, show some self-control, do some other things, right? So news. Social media. Social media. Now, there's nothing wrong with checking in, you know, a time or two during the day to see what's going

on in the news, but to constantly focus on what is going on here can have really a detrimental impact on our lives. So the internet, as well as news services, are something that we have to live with in moderation. We have to show self-control. We also have to show self-control when it comes to our appetites. And when it comes to the temptation to get angry with your boss or with your spouse or your kids. Listen, they're doing things right now by being home that they've never experienced before. And you can make it a better experience for everybody and draw them closer to the Lord because God has given you a spirit of self-control, self-control and rather than fear. Number two, Romans 8, 15 through 17. It says, Paul says, for you did not receive

the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, Abba, Father, it is the spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. And so my little message out of that scripture right there is know who, who, you are. When dealing with fear, he says, for you, he says, for you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. See, slavery is related to fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. You're a son of God. We cry, Abba, Father. And so in the midst of this

fearful atmosphere that we are living in, always remember, remember, know who you are. You know who you are. You're not a slave. You are not subject to slavery and falling back into fear again. Uh-uh. Don't do it. You are a son. Sonship. You're a daughter of God. Cry, Abba, Father. When you have that temptation to fall into fear during this world pandemic, worldwide pandemic, remember, know who you are. Know who you are. And that's an important thing to remember. You're not a victim. You're not a victim. You're a son. You're not a victim. You're a daughter of God. Our response is Abba. Abba, father, daddy, which it means that. In Hebrew, it means Papa, daddy. And that's what Paul called us to, to address God as our father, very intimate, the child to the father. Number three, number three. First Peter chapter five, verses six and seven. humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. I love that verse. I've oftentimes

gone back to that verse when I have encountered difficulties in life, whether it be with a job or family, whatever it might be. Peter says, he says, you need to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. and that's something to remember in the midst of this worldwide fear that people are experiencing, humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God. That is, recognize the proper relationship that you have with God. You're not greater than God. You're not as smart as God. You need to humble yourself, right?

He says that in due time, he may exalt you. And I love this. He says, cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. Now, casting your cares upon the Lord is an amazing thing. And that's the little lesson from that verse, casting cares. Casting cares. I love that, the music by casting crowns. But I love the idea of casting cares as well. And I often think about a fisherman, you know. And when someone's fishing, what do they do? They cast, right? And we want to cast our cares upon the Lord. Throw them to the Lord. Give them to the Lord. But like fishing, we don't want to be like a fisherman who slowly reels back in the cares. Cut the line. And if you run into a snag and you're pulling and everything else and that problem that you have and those concerns and those worries and those fears, then cut the line.

Cast your cares upon the Lord. Throw them. Confess them. Confess your cares today to the Lord. and give them to the Lord. I'm serious. Go back on the back deck if it's warm enough. Go walk around the block if you're allowed to do that in your area that you're at. And verbally, cast your cares upon the Lord. I love it. Number four, Psalm 56 versus three and four. Psalm 56 versus three and four, when I am afraid, I put my trust in thee. In God whose word I praise, in God I trust without a fear.

what can flesh do to me? Isn't that beautiful? When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee. What's the little lesson there? We're called to trust. We're called to trust, right? Trusting the Lord really has two components to it. One is intellectual consent. We believe that the Lord is my shepherd. We believe that he loves me. We believe that he cares. And the second aspect of that is a personal entrusting of ourselves. Trusting is not just a mental exercise. Trusting is living as though you are totally confident in the Lord. Trust him. Let me challenge you. Do you trust him right now in the midst of this worldwide pandemic virus? Do you trust him? I know there's a lot of places I don't trust. I trust him. And number five, before we take our first break, number five is Psalm 23, and Psalm 23 is absolutely

incredible. This is so filled with so many beautiful, beautiful truths as you go through it. And so what I'm going to do with this particular verse, or the chapter, I guess you'd say, Psalm 23, is what I would like to do is I would like to go through that and just read it and just point out to you some of the gold there that refers to subjects of trust. All right. So we have, the Lord is my shepherd, right? The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. That's a great thing right there. The Lord is my shepherd. And because the Lord is my shepherd, he makes me lie down in green pastures. He is going to give you rest in the midst of this. He leads me beside quiet waters. There's going to be places of quiet, silence that you've never experienced before, right?

And the Lord will lead you to those quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He refreshes my soul. Oh, we need that. We need that in the midst of all of this. He guides me along the right paths for his namesake, even though I walk through the darkest valley, I'm reading out of the new international version, I just like the way it reads in Psalm 23. But it says, even though I walk through the darkest valley, are you walking through that valley? Are you experiencing it? Is it talking to you? Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. That's important to remember. Here's Psalm 23. You are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Are you worried about food? Are you worried

about sustenance? He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. And so that is a wonderful, wonderful psalm that takes us through different aspects, right? Different aspects of possibility of fearing. Okay, hey, if you don't get the show notes, by the way, we'll give them to you automatically. All you got to do is text us. Text my name, Jeff Kavens, all one word, Jeff Kavins, and you can text to 3-3-7.

777, 3-3-777, and we will get you all the show notes automatically every week. In fact, I'll give you all these scriptures, all written up here, that you can take with you. You're listening to the Jeff Kaven show. We're going to take a break and come back. I still have five more marvelous, marvelous verses for you to stand on in faith, in the midst of the battle, in the midst of the war. the very thing that you've been training for, the very thing that you have been studying, you now can put into practice. We'll be back in just a moment. Reading the Bible is something we as Catholics know we should do, but let's be honest, it can be kind of complicated. Even though it's a complete story, the Bible isn't really one book. It's more like a library with dozens

of books and dozens of genres. There's poetry, prophecy, and prose. There are apocalypses and revelations, historical accounts, and allegories. No wonder it's difficult to keep a finger on the story of God's love and plan of salvation for his people, the thread that keeps all of it together. If you're wishing there was a simple guide to help you tie all of this together, then you're just like Jeff Kavins and Tim Gray. That's why they wrote the book, Walking with God. Walking with God is a single book that traces the story that ties the Bible together.

It helps you to understand the big picture of the Bible. If you're looking to read more of the Bible, walking with God will help you do it with confidence, peace, and clarity. You can find out more and order Walking with God on ascensionpress.com or on Amazon. And I want to welcome you back. We're talking today about 10 verses that relate to fear, and I hope that they are verses that encourage you. my trusty glass of water here again. So we are going to start with number six. It's Joshua

1-1-1-9. Joshua 1-9, have I not commanded you, God said? Be strong and of good courage. Be not frightened. Neither be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Isn't that great? Or don't go. I could say that right now, or where you don't go. The Lord is with you where you don't go. But you are your, you're, you're, in your place, you're with your family, and here's the good news. The little teaching there, God is with you. Have I not commanded you, be strong and of good courage, be not frightened, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. I love that. You know, the beautiful name, Emmanuel, of Jesus, it really speaks of the fact that God is with us.

that's what it means. Emmanuel, God is with us, God with us. And this is a beautiful thing, because in the Old Testament, God was with Israel, and he dwelt with Israel in the tent of meeting. And now he comes to be one of us in Christ and to be in us with the power of the Holy Spirit. And so it's an important thing to remember throughout the day, and by the way, teach your children and encourage your spouse and talk to your relatives over FaceTime or something. Skype or Zoom or whatever you're using. Be an encourager. Be an encourager. God is with you. Be strong and of good courage. Be not frightened. Neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Number seven, Matthew 6, verse 34. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day. This one is a beautiful one. It's one day at a time. That's the teaching one day at a time. And I know that some of you, my friends who are going to AA and you might go to other types of meetings where you're really strengthening yourself. One of the mantras that they have is one day at a time, right? One day at a time. Don't be anxious about tomorrow. Okay. Tomorrow will be anxious for itself, trust me. And let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day. In other words, today, what's on your plate, let's deal with that. One day at a time, do not be anxious about tomorrow. So one of the things that we can learn about fear is that fear, we're not meant to handle the fear of today and

tomorrow together. You know, just take care of today. Give it to the Lord and exercise some of the verses that we are talking about here today. As I think about this, I am reminded of of that movie, Life is Beautiful. Do you remember that? That was a very powerful movie. Do you remember in the camp, Guido, he hides their true situation from his son. Guido explains to his son what the camp is a complicated game. And of course, there's Nazis all around and people dying. But what did Guido do? What did he do? He protected, he sheltered it. He sheltered. He sheltered his son from the horrendous reality that he was in by every day keeping him preoccupied. And each of the tasks would earn points, and whoever gets to 1,000 points will win a tank.

And the game is called camp, right? And Guido, he maintains this story all the way to the very end, and then chaos breaks out. Allied forces are approaching, and he tells his son to stay in a box until everybody is left, this being the final task in the competition before the promised tank is given to his son. And what happens? Right before the Allied forces come in, his father, Guido, is gunned down by Nazis. But his son lived through it all. And he lived through it all one day at a time with his father, protecting him, and sheltering him to a degree. Life is beautiful, one day at a time. Number eight, Isaiah 43-1. God knows your name. It says, but now, thus says the Lord, he who created you,

O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. That is a powerful one. What's the lesson? The lesson is this. knows your name. God knows your name. Isn't that? Isn't that beautiful? One thing I run into so often, I have three daughters, and I have three grandkids, and I'll be talking to my wife, and I'll say, did you, and I'll mean to say, did you call Jackie, our middle daughter? And I'll say, did you call Carly, Tony, Leslie, I go into even my sister's names, Jackie. And it's like, I know all their names, but it just got. tangled, right? And so you call out your daughter's name, and you always mention the ones before

that. My dad calls me Jack, okay? I'm Jeff, but he calls me Jack sometimes. By the way, Jack is the dog. But God knows my name, right? And God knows your name. And that is one way of talking about a tremendous covenant relationship between God and ourselves. And when you are tested as you are now and when you are facing fear, just repeat to yourself, God, I know you, know my name. God, I know you know my name. You know me by name. I am yours, right? I am yours. And so fear not. I've redeemed you. I call you by name. You're mine. You're mine. Why don't you just say that with me, if you're in the car or walking around right now? Just repeat and say your own name.

But now, thus says the Lord, he who created Jeff. Go ahead and say your name. Oh, Jacob, he formed you, Jeff. Oh, Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed Jeff. your name. I have called you, Jeff, by name. Jeff, you are mine. I think if you say that, it's going to be very, very powerful, very powerful. Number nine is John 1427, another great one. Peace, I live with you. A peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you? Let not your hearts be troubled. Neither let them be afraid. Okay. Now, this would be one thing coming from Winston Churchill.

this would be another thing, you know, coming from John F. Kennedy, another thing coming from a good friend down the road. But this is Jesus saying this. And what's the little lesson here? God's peace versus the world's peace. There's a difference there. Jesus said, peace, I leave with you. Shalom, I leave with you. My shalom, I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled. neither let it be afraid, be afraid. Now, why should our hearts not be troubled? Why should we not be afraid? Because he is giving, who's he, Jesus? He is giving you, he's giving you peace. Well-being. It's all going to work. He's giving us peace. And that is an eternal peace, that it's a peace here and a peace that lasts forever. And so God's peace is different.

isn't what the world does. No, no, we're not looking for that. We're looking from the peace that comes from God. Sometimes I think it's good throughout the day just to stop yourself and just to say, Lord, I receive your peace. Say that with me right now. Lord, I receive your peace in my life. I receive it. And I know, Lord, this is different than the world gives me. Number 10, Psalm 9419. 19. God, I love this. God consoles you. Listen, this is a great, this is so good. When the cares of my heart are many, thy consolations cheer my soul. Isn't that beautiful? Psalm 9419. When the cares of my heart are many, thy consolations cheer my soul. What's, that's beautiful, but what's consolation? And how does God console us? Well, consolations are comforting you in a time of disappointment.

It's comforting you, consolation. God consoles you. Well, how does he console you? Well, he consoles you with love. Doesn't he? For God so love the world? He consoles you with love. You are my friends. I lay down my life for you. He consoles you with love in the midst of fear. He consoles you with truth, peace, faithfulness. So if this is how God consoles you in the midst of fear, how much... Oh, you got to hear. this, how might you console those around you in the midst of this fear? How can you do that? You can console others with the same ways of love and truth and patience and peace and mercy and faithfulness, encouragement. You can console those around you. I want to remind you, you've been studying for such a day as this. You have been preparing for this kind of battle.

Put your faith into practice. I was talking to someone earlier last night, and I told him, I said, you know, for us as men of God, particularly, this is not a time where we need to expect to be babysat. Uh-uh. It's time to grow up. It's time to enter the battle. We've been preparing for this. we've been studying for this. And if God consoles you as a father, then you can console your children. If Christ consoles you as a husband, as a bridegroom, you can console your bride. Ten verses. Ten ways of looking at fear. But aha! You thought I was done. I have a bonus. I have a bonus scripture. John 20, verse 19. It's my favorite. I had to give it. you. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the

disciples were for the fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace, be with you. Now, let me ask you this. Have you ever heard of a culture or a nation that was encouraged to go behind locked doors and was fearful? It's where we're at. But again, you've been studying for this. You've been preparing for this. You have been preparing to totally depend upon the Lord, and so the Lord comes behind your locked doors, not just physically, but figuratively as well with your heart. God comes behind locked doors, and what's his message for you? Peace be with you.

Just say after me, Jesus, come on in. Come on into this locked room where I'm fearful. I want to receive your peace. Now, those are 10 verses, I think, are very, very powerful plus the bonus verse. Didn't know you're going to get that one. And I really encourage you to take these in the show notes and meditate on them. I wrote them all out for you. Take them with you, go over them, pray them, talk to your kids about them.

This is an opportunity for us to step up to the plate during this time. I'm not Pollyanna. I'm not saying everything is just honky-dory and to think unrealistically. No, we're thinking very soberly and very realistically, but we're thinking very soberly, we also realize we're in a battle. We're in a battle, and you know what? You may never, ever, ever, ever have the opportunity that you have now to walk with Christ and to be an example to your loved ones. You may never have this opportunity again. And I say that in terms of the odds of this happening again in our lifetime are quite small. And so this is showtime. This is the stage. This is where we demonstrate

Christ. This is where we trust in Him. This is where we put our teaching into practice. Well, let's pray. And again, I hope to see you tonight on the first, the introduction of walking toward eternity. We're going to be talking about some very key topics that we're facing right now. It's going to be a half an hour tonight at 7 o'clock central, 8 Eastern at the Ascension Live Facebook page. I'm going to be with you tonight, and I'll have seven lessons after that. We'll say more about it. Tell your friends, will you? Let's gather all those relatives around and try to encourage them and to give them some good news in the midst of all of the difficulty.

Let's pray. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lord Jesus, I love you, and thank you, Lord, for my friends, and I lift them up to you now. Lord, perfect love casts out fear, and you have loved us so perfectly. You have loved us in every way. I pray, Lord, that we will walk in that love and that we will meditate on all the truths of the Word of God and stand on the truth and walk by faith and not by fear. I thank you, Lord, for, encouraging us with your word and directing us with your word, correcting us with your word. Your word truly is a consoling power in our life, for you are the living word of God.

We thank you, Lord, for doing this in our life. We also ask for the intercession of our lady, Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners. now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. By the way, every day during this period, 4 o'clock Eastern, right there on the Facebook live page. We have different members from the Ascension staff and teachers who are praying the rosary live around the world.

Join us. It's a wonderful, wonderful prayer. I love you, and I'm praying for you and ask you to pray for me as well. God bless you.