The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Don’t be a Walking Civil War - Walk by Faith!

Episode Date: November 8, 2019

We are constantly inundated with conflicting opinions and points of view. How can Catholics sort through all these to walk by faith? Jeff draws on the Gospels, Psalms, and Hebrews chapter 11 to help us quiet the inner conflicts and focus on the one eternal truth of God. Snippet from the Show “There are two parts to faith: intellectual assent and a personal entrusting of oneself wholly to God.” Get the full shownotes by texting “jeffcavins” to 33-777 or email us at [e-mail]

You're listening to the Jeff Kaven Show, episode 140. Don't be a walking civil war. Walk by Faith. Hey, I'm Jeff Kavans. 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. All right, so there you are walking down the road. You've got a decision to make. You've got so much in your mind and heart. You're walking with two opinions. You could go this way and you could go that way. And maybe this is right. Maybe that's wrong. I

think I believe this. But if I say it, I'm going to be unpopular. I feel like there's a civil war going on inside of me. Hello, I'm Jeff Kavins. And I am really excited this week about talking about this topic, because I know that at times in my life, I have felt like a walking civil war. And God is calling me to walk by faith. I hope you're having a good week, I really do. And maybe this is the topic that's going to fit right into your week. And I am ready to go at it. I've been looking forward to this all week long, and I've got a lot of scriptures for you, too.

Speaking of scriptures, I want to remind you that you can get all the show notes. Just simply text Jeff Kavens in one word, Jeff Kavens, and you can text it to 33777. Talk about a biblical number, right? 3-3, 2 Trinities, 777. You've got three covenants right there. 3-3-777. Just text my name, Jeff Kavins, in one word. Okay, so we're talking about don't be a walking civil war.

Now, let's be honest. A lot of us have felt like that, haven't we, from time to time, where we have a decision to make. Or there's a big subject out there in public, you know, it's abortion or, you know, talking about the Eucharist, you know, is it transubstantiation where God becomes bread and wine become completely the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ? But there's other opinions out there, and we're kind of wavering on that. Or do I really trust the papacy? You know, I've got two opinions going on inside of me. And that can be wary. That can really wear you out and gives us sort of a sense of being lukewarm, right? Well, you are very familiar, I'm sure, with the American Civil War. The American Civil War was fought in the United States, of course,

from 1861 to 1865. It was between the North and the South, the Union, and the Confederacy. And it was primarily over slavery, right? and the North upheld that the Constitution, that every person has rights and they can be free, and there was also the secessionists of the Confederate states in the South who advocated for states' rights in order to uphold slavery. Well, the North won that, and still today it's a very sensitive topic in our culture, and I think in a sense that's what walking as one country in civil war is about is that it's one country, but there's two. strong opinions battling it out. That war is for the most part over, but there is also a war that

takes place inside of ourselves, and that is the walking civil war when it comes to making decisions about our faith or about life. So what happens in our lives so often is that on any given topic we may have two conflicting opinions, and we can't decide. And that results in a lukewarm life, doesn't it? It results in a lukewarm life. Or here's a Greek word for you, Mambi-Pambi faith. No, that's not really Greek, but it should be. Mambi-Pambi faith. It's a lukewarm faith, and it is a faith that is going in two directions at once. So, you know, what do you think about abortion? What do you think about premarital sex and living together, contraception, heaven, hell, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the papacy, the Eucharist?

Is there a civil war going on inside of you? And how do you settle this? What's the key to settling this civil war that takes place on the inside? When you don't make a decision and give yourself over to an internal civil war, you can really become ineffective. You can become ineffective in your life. Listen to what James says. And this is kind of in the context of asking for,

wisdom, you know, asking for wisdom in any situation. James says in chapter one in verse six and seven, but let him ask in faith, you're asking for wisdom, let him ask in faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways, will receive anything from the Lord. Doesn't that really describe the civil war that takes place in some of us where we don't ask in faith. We are doubting, and we are experiencing a life that is described as being tossed around on the sea. And that person must not suppose that a double-minded man unstable in all his ways will receive anything from the Lord. And so we pray now,

oh, Jesus, calm this civil war inside of me. And let's pause for a moment, because, you know, I've given you some ideas about the papacy and contraception and the big ticket items, premarital sex, abortion, and you know, you know the big ticket items. But what is it in your life? What is it in your life that you are struggling with, with two opinions inside? Maybe something that your parents taught you, but you think, that's not biblical. I need to stand with what the church teaches on this, and yet I'm pulled. Only you can answer that. You know what I might be talking about, right? Well, how do you settle these internal civil wars? There are two things, and I'm going to talk about both of them, one before the break and one after, but I want to give you

two simple things that can help, at least, in solving the internal civil war that you might be experiencing. The first one is kind of broad, but it is very, very important. If you've got two opinions going on inside of you, and you think one is the church, one might not be the church, and I just feel like I'm tossed all around. The first is take on the yoke of Jesus. What does that mean? Take on the yoke of Jesus. If we're going to solve the internal civil war, going on in our hearts, if we're going to bring victory to that civil war in the area of good and beautiful and lovely and holy and Jesus, then we've got to take on the yoke of Jesus. Now, this idea of a yoke comes from Matthew 1129. In chapter 11 and verse 28, Jesus prefaces this

phrase about a yoke by saying, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And he says, he says, take my yoke upon you and learn from me. So what does that mean? Well, when a rabbi in Jesus' day would say to a prospective Talmud disciple, they would, of course, know them, and they knew that that disciple had the potential to become like them, and they would issue this invitation, Lech Achray, come follow me. And when they said, come follow me, they would typically say, take my yoke upon you. Now, to take my yoke upon you from a rabbi's perspective means take my worldview.

Take my worldview. So in the context of what we're talking about this week, we would say that there's a civil war going on inside of you, two opinions, two ideas, CNN, and Fox, all in a blender going on inside of your inside of your heart, well, what do you do? How do you settle this? Well, if you have a heart for God, the first thing you're going to do is you're going to want to know, well, what would Jesus say? What would Jesus do? Putting it in a biblical way, what is the yoke of Jesus? What's his world view? Because the goal in this is eternal. The goal in this is the reward, which is Christ, not simply bringing some earthly peace. Jesus brings a peace that goes to be. beyond the world's peace, a peace that it passes all understanding. And so if you want that peace

and you want that Civil War to settle down, then you must take on his yoke. And my friend, I know this is hard because when you turn the TV on, you've got a lot of world views out there. Oh yeah, very popular. Just like Jesus when he was born in Paul when he began his ministry, they were living in a world that worshipped the godman, Caesar, who was the son of God, the prince of peace, the one who ushered in the good news for the world, Caesar Augustus. But Jesus was born in that situation, and he was the son of God, the prince of peace, the one who ushered in the good news for the world. So make your choice.

You've got two ideas. Is it going to be Caesar or is it going to be Jesus? Is that the civil war that's inside of you? Is it the way of the world and the way of Jesus? Oh, man, I encourage you. Take the way of Jesus. Take his yoke upon you. There's an underlying principle here, and Jesus provides the example where in Luke 2242 and Matthew 610,

I'll give you those scriptures in the show notes, by the way. He says, not my will, but your will be done, Father, right? not my will, but yours be done. That's an underlying principle to solving the civil war that takes place in our hearts. And that means that you have to take some time to go and pray. You've got to have a holy hour. You have to pick up that Bible and that catechism. You have to talk to your posse, the saints that you walk with, and you need to come to a decision here. What is Jesus saying? What is God's will? this particular area? What does the church teach? Because that's the pillar in support of truth. And so the first step is to take on the yoke of Jesus. And this underlying principle that Jesus gives us

is, not my will, but yours be done. You see, decisions are an act of the will. And they are always influenced by the mind and the emotions are both. And the decisions we make are a reflection of the desires of our heart. Psalm 1,1930. So you have to ask yourself before making a decision, am I choosing my will and pleasure, or do I choose to do the will and the pleasure of the Lord? See, that's how we solve these civil wars going on inside of us. This confliction in our lives. God is the only one who sees the beginning from the end, the past, present, and future of our lives. and he teaches and counsels us as he reveals himself to us through his word and spirit. And God has made this promise to us.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go. I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32.8 and Psalm 2512. Do not write when you are driving. I've got those scriptures in the show notes. I've told you. I'm going to give it all to you. So decisions should be made, keeping in mind that all should be done for the glory of God.

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. And he blesses decisions that reflect his character that promote justice, kindness, and humility. I love that. You know, one of my favorite scriptures is Micah, Chapter 6 and verse 8. It says, He showed you, oh, man, what is good. and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Great stuff here for ending the Civil War in your heart. Take on the yoke of Jesus.

Matthew 1129, take on the yoke of Jesus. So before we pause for the break, let me just ask you, have you taken on the yoke of Jesus? Have you entertained it? Are you thinking about it? Does it sound good? does it sound enticing, inviting? Maybe it'll make a difference in your life. Could you add that to the arsenal of positive thinking tools? Or is it everything? If it's everything, you're going to settle,

you're going to settle the civil war in your life. The next one, I think you're really going to love, and this is going to be the key for really finding the victory. We're talking today about Don't be a walking civil war, walk by faith. Oops, I think I just gave it away what we're going to talk about on the other side of this break. You're listening to The Jeff Kaven Show. Imagine this. You're walking down the street and a Christian at a table with a bunch of pamphlets asked you. Have you been saved?

What would you do? Would you know how to respond? Hi, I'm Dr. Andrew Swofford and I'm co-presenter along with Jeff Kavins in Ascension's new Great Adventure Bible Study, Romans, the Gospel of Salvation. in this study we teach you the biblical foundations for the catholic teaching on salvation how to explain salvation quickly and easily to non-christians what st paul really meant by works not leading to salvation and how we can enter more deeply into christ paul's letter to the romans has been at the center of reflection conversion and controversy from the very beginning and it's widely

considered his greatest work i invite you to start a small group in your homer parish and embark on this great adventure romans the gospel of salvation is available for pre-order right now and for purchase on September 1st, 2019. To order, visit ascensionpress.com. And you're back, and I'm ready. Number two, how do you solve the civil war going on in your life today? The first was take on the yoke of Jesus. That is his worldview. It becomes your worldview. That should settle some issues in your heart right there, right? The second is walk by faith. How do you find victory in that internal civil war? Walk by faith. Do not be thrown around by the waves of the sea, thrown around by indecision in Mambi, Pambi, faith. That should have been the name of the show,

actually. Walk by faith. Now, what's this talk about? Let's talk about faith for a few minutes, shall we here? Notice that we as Christians are not called on in scripture to walk by public opinion, right? You won't find that coming out of the mouth of Jesus. My followers come around me. Walk by public opinion. No. We don't walk by focus groups either, do we? It's always been interesting to me how Christian ministries will conduct focus groups to find out what people want. I find that interesting. Maybe there's a room for it in some ways. I'm sure there is. But generally speaking, I think focus groups do not yield the data that we're really looking for. We don't walk by the opinion of famous people or award shows on TV. We don't walk by the opinion of politicians. We do not take on in ourselves

the internal civil war of Fox versus CNN. We don't do that. We don't do that. We are not simply stating that we are followers of Christ, but we're going to to follow that up by walking by faith, walking with Christ. So let's talk about biblical faith here for just a moment. And I'm going to conclude with Hebrews chapter 11, which is kind of the hall of faith, which really gives a whole listing of people who walked by faith. But what does it mean to walk by faith? And how does this solve the civil war in your heart? All right? Well, in the Mass every week, we hear the creed. And the creed is really fantastic, really, really fantastic, isn't it? It is sort of this condensing of salvation history, of everything that we believe. And we say that every week.

And it's important to realize that we are not simply stating the core beliefs of the church, are we? In other words, we're not simply saying, yeah, every week, I still believe that. Yeah, I check, check, check, yep, check, yep, check, uh-huh, I believe all that. That's not what we're saying. The catechism of the Catholic Church gives us a little bit of insight into this idea of faith in believing, and I think you'll see how this can help solve the civil war in your heart. The key to understanding the creed is the word believe, believe. You can check this out in paragraph one-fif.

I'll put that citation in the notes. According to the catechism, believing has two aspects, okay, or faith has two aspects. Now this, oh, wow, you're going to like this because this really cuts to the heart of the Civil War in your heart. All right, the two aspects of believing and faith, because they're related to each other, faith and believing. Number one is that whatever it happens to be that the church would promote, whether it's about Christ or whether it's about morals or ethics or family of God, the Blessed Mother, the communion of the saints, the sacraments, heaven and hell and purgatory, venial sin, mortal sin. Whatever the church happens to put forth as the teachings of Christ as this wonderful, wonderful,

wonderful body of truth. There's two aspects when we say, I believe that. There's two aspects to it. Number one is intellectual assent, something intellectuals, intellectuals, intellectual assent. You say, well, I believe what the church teaches about contraception in life. Going back to Humanevite, you say, I intellectually believe that. Yes, sir, I concur. Check, check, check. I think I do. And I think my wife doesn't. I think our parents do. And yep, okay, I'm on board. and my mind makes some mental assent to all that God has revealed in the scriptures and through his church. That's great. Now, one of the problems is, is that we often entertain other views as well, and we can't make up our mind, and that becomes another small civil war within our heart.

So, yes, I intellectually, I'm there. I make intellectual assent, and that's good, yay. But that's only part of what faith is and what believing is. Okay. Now, the second part is, where we get all messed up and we cannot come to the conclusion. We cannot bring ourselves to really have faith or believe because it's going to require something of us. The first part is what? Intellectual assent. The second part is a personal entrusting of oneself to God.

Let me say that again. A personal entrusting of oneself to God. Yes, I do believe that the church teaches and that Christ would teach. us that we are not to contracept. I believe that, but am I going to personally entrust myself to God in that area? One of the words that is translated belief is the Hebrew word, Amen. Amen. Amen. A-M-E-N-A-N-A-M-A-N. And this is the word that we understand as amen. We say amen. It's amen. Pope Benedict, the 16th, he comments on this word as meaning to take my stand on someone else. Isn't that good? Hey, let's put that into context for a moment, shall we? You have that civil war going on in your life and you know what it is. You know what the

topic is. You've got to handle on the subject. Are you going to take your stand on someone else, namely Christ? Or are you going to take your stand on someone else, namely a politician or a pundit on television or a talk show host, that's your decision. The war will continue until you make that decision. And if the decision is the wrong decision, you will bear the fruit of that. But if the decision is based on the right and the good and the true and the holy, there's going to be peace in your heart that passes all understanding. So again, real quickly, you've got intellectual assent, yes, I believe it, followed up with a personal and trusting of myself to God. Now, we have to ask ourselves, what are we really standing on? What is my life based on?

At what point will I take a stand? In my taking a stand, am I taking a stand on something that's simply my dreams, my talents, my wisdom, or am I making a stand based on God's will? So week after week, when we repeat the creed at mass, we are not just making mental assent, but we are entrusting ourselves to God. Listen, if you want to solve that civil war in your heart, you're going to have to take on the yoke of Jesus, and you're going to have to believe, and you're going to have to come to a conclusion

that results in entrusting yourself to him. That's how you solve the civil war in your life. One of my good friends, Dr. Edwards-3, he talks about this in his book on the mass. I think it's really a good analogy. He talks about the difference between the two aspects between marriage and math, in a math equation. And it's really good. He says, in my mind, I believe that 2 plus 2 equals 4. I can make that mental assent. But when I took my wife and looked at her in the eyes and said, I believe in you, I wasn't simply saying, I believe you exist, like 2 plus 2 is 4, but I'm saying, I entrust myself to you.

and this is what we are saying to the Lord when we recite the creed. I entrust myself to you. I believe in you. My whole life finds its foundation in you. By the way, Edwards III has a new podcast on Ascension Presents. Go check it out. So there's another analogy, and that is the man who is very famous for crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Very, very, very, very famous. And that's not something I would do, to be honest with you. Now, he's going to do this. He's going to put this rope from the U.S. side to the Canadian side, and he's going to go across it. So the crowd is there, the television crews, it's all cool and great, and the people down below are excited, and they're yelling, yes, yes, and then the crowd goes quiet, and he begins to walk across the Niagara Falls. And after about a half an hour, he successfully makes it across, and the crowd is applauding and

yelling and suddenly they start to yell, do it again, do it again. And the man on the rope yells back with a microphone, do you believe I can do it again? And they said, yes, we believe it. We believe it. He says, do you believe I can cross the Niagara Falls again blindfolded? And they said, yes, of course, they screamed it with zeal. And he said, you believe I can cross the Niagara Falls blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow. And they yelled out, yes, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, yes. He says, do you believe I can cross blindfolded with a wheelbarrel with a human being in the wheelbarrel? And they said, yes, we believe it. Intellectually, we make assent. Yes. And he said, I need a volunteer. To which nobody raised their hand. Nobody personally entrusted themselves. There's a conflict. There's a conflict I believe he

can do that, but I cannot see myself doing this. There's a civil war going on inside. We have to entrust ourselves to Christ. We have to take on his yoke. We have to walk by faith. We have to believe and entrust ourselves. And that, my friend, is how we find the victory in our lives. Now, Hebrews chapter 11, and I'm going to give this to you in the show notes, Hebrews chapter 11 is affectionately called the Hall of Faith, the Hall of Faith, and it is a chapter that gives example after example after example of people who, yes, made intellectual assent, yes, and they entrusted their lives to the Lord, yes, and they took on the yoke of God, the worldview of God, and this is how you go forward. This is how you settle the civil war in your life. Listen to this.

Hebrews 11 in verse 1. Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it, the men of old received divine approval. For by faith, we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear. And then it goes through this litany of phrases, by faith, so-and-so, did this. So I'll give you a few of them. By faith, this is verse four. By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. Wasn't a civil war. By faith, Abel, what did he do? He made mental assent. Yes, he believed. And then he entrusted himself. He entrusted himself and took on the yoke of God, right? By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice. By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death.

By faith, Noah being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen took heed and constructed an ark. What would have happened if Noah had a civil war inside? What would happen if Noah was walking with a civil war and couldn't make a decision? I'll tell you what. Would have been the biggest swimming pool he's ever swam in. So we go on and say, well, by faith, verse 8, by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance, and he went out, not knowing where he was to go. Wow. And then it mentions in verse 13, it has other people, too, it says, verse 13, these all died in faith, not having received

what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. In other words, they felt like, this is not my home, and all this is going on, and I feel conflicted, and maybe you feel like that about the place where you're living in your life. It goes on in verse 17 in the hall of faith by faith Abraham in verse 17 when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid for three months by his parents because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. Isn't that great?

That's wonderful. By faith, the people crossed the Red Sea. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell. By faith, Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who were disobedient because she had given friendly welcome to the spies. And then verse 32, and what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barracks, Samson, Jeff, the, And David and Samuel and the prophets who, through faith,

conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises stopped by the, stop the mouths of lions. Quenching, raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword. One strength out of weakness became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. I mean, this goes on and on. And all these, though well attested by their faith, they did not receive what was promised. That was yet to come, but they still walked by faith, even though they did not see what was promised. Isn't that great? And so I share that with you this week

to encourage you that if you've got this civil war going on inside and you're walking civil war, there's the North and the South in you, change the topics from slavery to something else, How's it going to be solved? You must take on the yoke of Jesus. Make your mind up. You're going to live by his will. You're going to be obedient to his will. Come hell or high water, you are Jesus. You belong to him. You've been purchased by the precious blood of the lamb, and you're going to walk by faith. You're just not going to make mental assent. No, that's not going to solve the civil war. Just making mental assent an agreement to what God has said does not solve that battle within, but entrusting yourself to him and taking a step, like those in the Hall of Faith, that is what's going to bring victory to this civil war in your life. Ah, I love being here with you. I do. I grow myself. I get encouraged. I am encouraging myself with God's word along with you. Again, I want to remind you, we've got some big trips coming up, and I would like to go on a pilgrimage with you.

And I know Father Mike Schmitz would too. So next June, there's still room on our trip to the Holy Land. It's a young adult trip. Go to my website, jeffcavens.com. Learn all about it. But you've got to sign up soon because final payments are going to be due, and we don't want you to miss out on it. Got great, great people going.

Andrew and Sarah Swofford from Atchison, Kansas, Benedictine College. We also have Taylor Tripote singing, Ali Aliah, Brother. Isaiah, it's going to be a great time. It's going to be warm. A lot of water activities we're going to be doing. So you can find out about that, and I still have some openings, but this is really coming down to the wire for this January. But I want you to come. All right? Okay, let's pray. It's pray that we will settle this Civil War battle within us, and that we will make the decision to take on the yoke of Jesus and walk by faith. In the name of the Father, in the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Lord, we give you this battle. We give you this civil war. We ask you, Lord, to help us. We ask you, Lord, to help us by helping us to take on your yoke in the decision that we have made, that we will take on your yoke. We will do what you do. We will take on your worldview. We will dismiss those views that are contrary to you, and we will not. be tossed back and forth anymore. We resolve in our heart to walk as your disciples,

as activated disciples. And Lord, we choose to walk by faith, to believe what you have said, to believe what has been passed on to us through the church, the pillar, and the support of truth, and to entrust ourselves to you, to get into the wheelbarrow, and to completely give ourselves over to you. We entrust ourselves to you. It is your opinion. It is your will. It is your desire that we choose. We thank you for this, Lord. In your name we pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. My friend, I love you and I pray for you. And again, I ask you to pray for me and pray that we would all persevere as activated disciples and that we would all go deep into his word and that we would take on his yoke.

That's our task this week. Civil War, you have come to an end. God bless you.