The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Episode Date: January 8, 2021

Today, Jeff explains how we can bring light into our lives to combat the darkness of the world. Snippet from the Show “We look at everything that is going on in the world with the understanding that ultimately, darkness will be defeated here and forevermore by Jesus Christ. We have won, but the battle rages.” Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail] Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit ascensionpress.com/thejeffcavinsshow for full shownotes!

You're listening to the Jeff Kaven Show, episode 200. Don't be afraid of the dark. 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.

My, my, my, what a week in a month. American history, isn't it? I don't remember a time in my life where more people were discouraged, let down about our country, felt like things are falling apart and wondering what is this world going to look like for our children and for our grandchildren. We're going to talk about that today. We're going to talk about being afraid of the dark. And the real The real battle that is taking place, a battle that is taking place in a realm that we don't see with our regular eyes. Nevertheless, it is there, and it is fierce, and it's a battle that's playing for keeps, heaven and hell. And we see a manifestation of this around the world at

different times, and in no doubt there's a battle going on in America between light and darkness, and I'm not going to get into the whole political scene. That's not what I'm focusing on here today, but something that I think is much bigger than that, and something that transcends this world on into eternity. I've been talking to so many people recently who are discouraged, let down, wondering what in the world is going on. I would submit to you today that that that what is going on in the world is a manifestation of a more serious battle that is taking place. And when you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, and you are equipped with all that he has given us, that is life, the power of the Holy Spirit, his word, the fellowship of the saints,

he's given us so much. When you're equipped with that, you begin to look at life a little bit differently. And life becomes bigger than just what's happening down here on earth and what we can see with our eyes. It's kind of like that with world history. You know, we in the United States, and if you're listening outside the United States, I think you would concur, and many of your countries are the same, we're living in a very small little segment of world history. and it's been really good, really, really good. This country of the United States has been greater than any country in the history of the world, and I would argue that.

But we've had it very, very good. And there is no guarantee about this country continuing on as it has for over 200 years. And that isn't really the end of the story, because the battle is bigger than the last. 200 years, the battle is bigger than just the United States being the home of democracy and freedom in the world. It's a bigger battle. I think a lot of people are very much afraid of the dark, and it's something that we started with when we were kids. We're afraid of the dark. And still to today, it's very natural to be afraid of the dark. You know, you leave your job at 11 o'clock at night, and you've got to walk to your car, and it's dark out, and maybe you have to walk to walk.

through some areas that are really dark, and there's a natural fear that comes upon us at that point, I think, and that's natural. But there's also a darkness that is not just dealing with night and day, but a darkness that permeates society in the world. That is the result of things happening behind the scenes spiritually, with the battle that goes on between Satan and his minions, demons and the children of light in the plan of God? Big battle. Very big battle. When I was in fourth grade, that was an unusual year for me growing up in the Twin Cities. That was the year that I got into a food fight in cafeteria. And I started it, and I got caught. And I wound up in the principal's office sitting there. And it was at that time that my mother was going to be giving

birth to my younger sibling at that point. It turned out to be my little sister. Well, that day that I was sitting in the principal's office, wondering what my punishment would be, the phone rang and the principal was talking to someone. Little did I know. It was my dad. My dad had called into the school to let the principal know, and if he could pass me a message that congratulations, I have a sister, and that's how I found out that I had a baby sister, 10 years younger than myself, was I was in the principal's office, and I was in trouble. And shortly after that, my dad picked me up from school. Never did really get in trouble for that, and he took me home, and there we met my little sister shortly after that. But that also meant that I had to move from my bedroom upstairs to my

bedroom downstairs. And the bedroom downstairs had just been completed, and I wasn't used to it. That first night, I was scared. I was scared because I was in the basement, and the only light coming into the basement was through a window well. Now, outside of the window well, there were bushes, and the moonlight would come through the bushes, and it cast a shadow in my room that was continually moving. And my little imagination concluded that there was someone out there and they were going to come into my room. I was in danger and I was afraid of the darkness. Well, I remedied that by going out into the hallway, turning on the light, and then I kept my door open, which beforehand upstairs I would close my door, but I left my door open about six inches so that it would counter

these shadows. I learned a lesson then that I really didn't understand until I was an adult and understood this whole issue between light and darkness. I found a way to deal with the darkness and that was to bring light into my room. And when I brought light into my room, the darkness subsided. The fear went away. You know, Today, I think there's a lot of us who are afraid of the darkness in the world. And the remedy for this, just like my little story of being in fourth grade, the remedy is the light. It is the light. And Jesus Christ is the light of the world. And you are the light of the world, which I'm going to share with you in just a moment. But that is really the answer. The answer

to the problems that we are facing. And just two days ago, on the epiphany of all holy days, the U.S. Capitol was invaded. And that set something on fire in the country. And around the world, as the whole world watched our democracy, appearing to crumble right in front of us, which brought on a tremendous fear around the country. But Jesus said something really important. He said, speaking to his disciples, he said that, in me, you may have peace. He said, in me, you may have peace. He said, in the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.

And my friends, that is the truth. That's the truth now. That's the truth at the end of time is that Jesus Christ, by his blood, by his sacrifice, has overcome the world. And so we look at everything that is going on in the world today with the understanding that ultimately darkness will be defeated here and forevermore by Jesus Christ. And we have won, but the battle rages as we speak. And there are so many ways that people try to overcome the difficulties that we face in life, overcome the trials and the threats that we feel coming at us in life. One of the ways that we try to overcome is politics. If we can just have the

right president, the right Senate, the right house, the right, the right people, then we'll be okay. We'll be all right. We'll have a good agenda. And everything we hoped for in this American lifestyle will be preserved. Yay, we win, right? But politics is not the answer. Now, that's not to say that we shouldn't be a part, right? We should be a part of all of this. But politics is not the answer to the darkness in the world. It's a reality. It's a tool. It's a tool. It's a tool. It's a it can be a manifestation of what's absolutely happening in our country, but it's not the answer. Hollywood is trying to overcome the world. Finances, maybe we can overcome through finances, or maybe we can overcome through social media. Maybe a social media will bring us together into one

where we can have communication and understanding. There's all these attempts, but I think you would degree when I say that none of these are really the answer to overcoming the darkness in the world today. They simply aren't. I'm going to give you some scriptures here, and if you do want these scriptures, I'll give them to you free, as I do on every show, and if you sign up for the notes, you'll get the notes in perpetuity on into the future, and all you have to do is type my name, Jeff Kavens, Jeff Kavins, that's one word, and text it to 33777. That's 3377, and I'll get you all of the show notes. Hey, hey, before I get into that, do you know what really hit me this last week? That in the midst of the darkness and all the conflict and all the arguing and everything that's going on

in the world, a podcast that Father Mike Schmitz and I put together on reading the Bible in one year went to number one in the country. I got a call from someone that said, congratulations, the podcast is number one in the country. And I said, oh, yeah, that means among Catholic podcasts? No, among religious podcasts? No. I said, what are you talking about? And they said, the podcast is number one in the world above all podcasts. You see, in the midst of darkness, I think this is a sign for us that God's word will shine and light will prevail in the midst. I think it's a sign. I really do. If you'd like to read the Bible with Father Mike Schmitz and myself this whole year, you can go to ascensionpress.com. I'll put it in the show notes, and you have a few days to catch up,

and you'll be on board with us. Because ultimately, it is the word of God that provides us with the plan, the strategy, the power to overcome the darkness. Jesus, Jesus wants us to remember that he is not going to take us out of this world, but we must resist the evil one and remember that we do have an enemy. We do. He said in 1st John 2, 16 for all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, number one, the desires of the eyes, number two, and the pride of life, number three, is not from the father, but it's from the world. And my friend, you and I, as Christians, we are not of this world. We are created for another world.

We're in the world, but not of the world. But we overcome in this world through the power. of Jesus Christ. And the question is, how do we overcome? Now, this morning, Emily and I were sitting at the table, as we do every morning for about an hour, hour and a half together, and we were doing Lexio-Devina, praying the scriptures, and the reading this morning was 1 John chapter 5, verses 4 through 5, 4 and 5. And as Emily read it, it suddenly became apparent. to both of us, that this was apropos. This was a timely word in the liturgical calendar of the church. One of the bonuses of the liturgical calendar is that God can use it to speak into our situations today

and bring us hope and joy and strategy. In 1 John 5, it said this morning, for everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. Isn't that beautiful? Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Isn't that powerful? This is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Are we to vote, Jeff?

Yes, we are to vote. But your vote does not overcome the world. Your vote doesn't overcome the world. It is our faith. And then it goes on and says, who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God? My friend, do you believe that Jesus is the son of God? I know you do. We overcome the world. Do you have faith? I know you do. if you were baptized, you received faith, hope, and charity. We have faith. We believe in Jesus, the Son of God. But this idea of faith is not believism. It isn't simply we concur with heaven on everything that Jesus taught or everything that the church has taught. We have faith, which is, number one, making mental assent. Yes, I agree. But number two, it is a personal. entrusting of ourselves to God and His Word and His plan. That's how we overcome the darkness. If the people of God just believe that what Jesus said was true, and that's all, we're not going to overcome. We must walk in faith, and that is we must entrust ourselves to Jesus Christ,

second person of the Trinity. So that scripture this morning really spoke to us, and I thought, boy, I'm going to talk about this today. I have a number of things I want to share with you about overcoming and some pointers, some suggestions that will help you in overcoming during this time that we're living in right now. I'll be back in just a moment. You're listening to the Jeff Kaven show. 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ chose corrupt, broken, imperfect, sinful men to be the foundation of his church. And because these broken and perfect men chose to remain in relationship with Jesus, they became saints. And they were used by Jesus to transform hearts and minds 2,000 years later. I invite you to check out my book, Broken and Blessed,

where you'll find practical tools to overcome habitual sin, to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and to walk with an imperfect church toward a perfect God who is calling all of us to perfection over time. To order the paperback book or audiobook, Broken and Blessed, visit ascensionpress.com or Amazon. Okay, so we're talking about overcoming, and we know that this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith, our faith. I want to give you a number of points here, but an overarching

perspective when it comes to overcoming evil, destruction, darkness. It comes from Revelation chapter 12 and verse 11. And by the way, on this particular show, boy, the apostle John sure contributes big time. In the book of Revelation, the gospel of John, and the three letters of John, he seems to have a theme in all of them, and that theme is overcoming in the battle. And that's what we find ourselves in. He says in Revelation chapter 12, he talks about how the martyrs entered glory, how the martyrs overcame, how the martyrs overcame, how the martyrs were victorious in a dark world. And he says that they have conquered him, the enemy, by three things. By the blood of the lamb, by the word of their testimony, and they love not their

lives even unto death. Now those three things are really, really important to walk in in the midst of a battle like we find ourselves in right now. And if you know of somebody who is is feeling the repercussions of all that's going on, share this with them, share this podcast with them as a point of hope, an anchor for the soul. It's good news. So these three things are important. Number one, they conquered by the blood of the lamb. You know that it was the blood of Jesus that that conquered original sin and brought us to the Father. It is through the blood of the Lamb that were brought into the family of God and receive faith and receive hope, right? And charity. And so one thing that we cannot walk away from is the

Eucharist. Now, during these times of COVID, oh, that's right, COVID was going on this year. Through this period of COVID, a lot of churches have opened up, but unfortunately, a lot of the lay faithful have become lazy, and they're not going back. They're saying, well, you know, we're just going to watch this on television, and some people may because of health issues, but for the most of us, we have no excuse to miss Mass, to assemble together. and the writer in the New Testament even said we should not forsake the assembling together. And one of the reasons for that is that we receive the blood of the lamb, the grace that we need in the time of darkness, the life of God in our bodies. That's amazing. If you were going to face darkness in a battle and I said, hey, I've got something that will

really, really set you over the edge as far as victory, and that is that God's life, I'm going to put that life in your body. You would say, give it to me. Give it to me. I'll crawl up the aisle. I'll do anything. I'll take an Uber over there. I'll drive.

I'll fly. I want the life of God in my body. And so it was through the blood of the lamb that they conquered in the book of Revelation. And the second was the word of their testimony. The word of their testimony. It was their proclamation of who God is, what he has done, and the gospel. You see, the gospel of Jesus Christ cuts through the darkness, and the Holy Spirit confirms the message of the gospel, that God loves you and has an amazing plan for your life.

Sin has interrupted the plan. Jesus loved you so much, he died for you, and now he wants us to repent, and that is to completely, radically reorient our lives to him. That's the gospel. that's what our victory is. But how many of us as Catholics do not proclaim that in the argument about politics of the day and subjects of the day? This is how we overcome, my friend. I'm just telling it to you the way it is. Straightforward, we overcome by the word of our testimony. Jesus is alive. He's on the throne. The battle is his. the third thing is a perspective on life, I guess you could say. They did not love their own lives even unto death. Wow, you see, if you're trying to overcome the darkness in your life right now

and to get a handle on what is going on, and you're going about it, and all you can think about is preserving your life or preserving the American way or preserving your riches, whatever it might be, you're going to miss the battle. You really are. We must be willing to die for the gospel. We must be willing to die. I've heard so many people, listen, I have heard so many people say, I am so fearful about what the world is going to look like when my kids grow up or my grandchildren grow up. And that, frankly, is why you've worked so hard to try to create a world for your grandchildren. But listen to this. We must not be afraid of death. You went and you voted. You campaigned. You went on social media. You listen to

podcast. You watch the news hour after hour. to try to do what? Well, we want justice. We want a world for our loved ones, right? But the key is you cannot love your own life, even to death. That's the key. Now, there's a number of things that I'll just kind of rattle off to you, and I'll put them in the show notes for you, that I think are really important when it comes to our perspective in the midst of this darkness. And number one is we must not be conformed to this world. What do I mean by that? Well, Paul said this in Romans 12. He said, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

You see, if we're going to transcend darkness and the light is truly going to shine through our lives and into our children and our grandchildren's lives, we must not be conformed to the world. We don't have the same value system. We don't fight for the same things. Yes, this way of life in America over 200 years has been really, really good, but it's a blip on world history. What will it be like in the future? I don't know. I really don't know. But whatever happens, I'm not going to be conformed to this world in terms of their values. values, the way that they handle themselves, money, relationships, sexuality, time, all of this. Marriage, children, I'm not going to be conformed to this. I'm going to be conformed to God by

having my mind transformed. And you'll do that by reading the Word. That's why you should join us in reading the Word this year. Number two, be faithful. Be faithful. We are called all throughout Scripture to be faithful to Jesus Christ, and this is how we overcome. It is through faithfulness. And I read that to you at the top of the show in 1 John 5, verses 4 and 5, where John says, for everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faithfulness, our faithfulness. we're talking about a faithfulness not only to God, to be sure, but a faithfulness in our marriages, a faithfulness in our relationship with our children, our faithfulness at our local

parish, our faithfulness in time, our faithfulness in money, our faithfulness in the way we deal with the internet. This is how we overcome. We can't let go of all of this and just think that if we just have the right leaders in our life, that everything's going to be okay. Did you know that when you read the New Testament, you never hear of Paul or Peter talking about the world political situation? They always are talking about Jesus Christ in his kingdom because they know that this is the way that we overcome. Number three, this might seem trite in some ways, but it's very powerful. Be of good cheer. no doubt. We are living up in a very messed up. We're living up in a very chaotic time. We're living

in a very depressed time for many. They feel beaten down. But Jesus encourages us. In John 1633, he encourages us with, if you want to put it in real language, it's hey, it's hey, cheer up. Cheer up. Lord, don't you watch Fox and CNN? Seriously? aren't you on parlor and Twitter, Facebook? Come on, Jesus. Didn't you watch the news yesterday? He says, these things I have spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. In the world, you shall have tribulation. He's being honest, isn't he? You know that word tribulation means a tearing apart from the inside? He says, you're going to have tribulation in the world, but then he says, be of good cheer. I've overcome the world.

Say, Lord, didn't you watch the news yesterday? Listen, Jeff, I overcame the world. I've overcome the world. Be of good cheer. Put a smile on your face. I have overcome. Walk in that victory. And number four, he tells us that we have a role to play to be the light of the world. We are the light of the world. In Matthew 5, he says, you are the light of the world. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. You see, we do not overcome by sitting and watching the news. We overcome, and the light comes on the scene when we do what he told us to do. That's it.

And if you're not going to do what he told you to do, number one, you're not his friend. He said that. If you call me a friend, but you don't do what I do. If you're my friend, you'll do what I told you to do. you call me Lord, but you don't do what I told you to do. How can we ever expect to be a witness in this world and let the light shine if we're going to just be students but not doers? This is very powerful stuff.

Number five, another one is obtain godly wisdom in the midst of the darkness. Obtain godly wisdom. You see, we need to seek wisdom. and in order our lives around that wisdom. That's why James says, if you lack wisdom, ask. Ask for wisdom. What do I tell my children? What do I do at work?

What about this? What about this? God, give me wisdom. Give me wisdom. Give me wisdom. See, the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, Paul said to the Corinthians in chapter 3. 1 Corinthians 3, 1819. The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. We have a different, a different wisdom in the world doesn't understand it, but we're called to walk in it. Number six, focus on God's

coming kingdom. Yes, it's true that the kingdom is here, and we are a part of that kingdom in the church, but we have a kingdom up ahead in heaven that is amazing. Absolutely amazing. And that's what we are called to do. God is training us to renounce ungodliness, worldly passions, to live self-controlled, upright lives, godly lives in this present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And then number seven, Paul says in Romans 1221, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Ask yourself today, what can I do good? What can I do to overcome evil? What can I teach my children? What can I do with my local parish? What can I do with the poor? what can I do with those who are so discouraged? So you see, the answer is there. And we have so much to be joyful about in our lives. If we will be sober-minded about the battle that we face and what the real battle is and the tools that God has given us to overcome. I don't have time

today, and I might do it on a future podcast, but I would recommend that you read the first three chapters of the book of Revelation. Because John is giving a message, God is giving the message to the seven churches of Asia Minor, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatyrus, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. And he ends the message to each one of those churches with this, to him who overcomes, I will give. And that's my reading assignment for you today. And I'm going to put the answers in the show notes. just so you might want to dig a little bit, but that which God will give those that overcome is amazing.

I'll give you a little hint for Ephesus. He says, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, to the one who conquers, I will grant to eat the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Can't get much better than that. And there are six others, and I'll put them in the show notes, but go ahead and read it. Go ahead and read it and see what God will give.

to those who overcome. If we will put into practice many of the things that I've mentioned, and there is so much more in God's Word. Let me just conclude by encouraging you. You know what? God loves you so much. And I know that there's a lot going on, but God loves you so much that he died for you.

And he has a plan for your life. He is simply asking you now because sin disrupted this plan. he's asking you to repent of everything in your life right now that is that is in discord with his will my friends that is what we're called to do repent of your sin repent of your sin and turn to god with all of your heart and radically reorient your life to jesus christ that's the message you'll never ever ever find a better answer than that when it comes to the problems that we are facing today Now, let me pray for you and ask God to be that shepherd in your life right now, that you are craving.

You're craving for that. You're looking for the light. You're looking for the hope. You're looking for the joy. And it's found in Jesus Christ. How much time are you spending with him today? How much of his word are you reading? How much of him are you consuming regularly in the Eucharist?

going to confession, unburdening your heart from those things that easily entangle you. My friend, it's time to grow up. It's time for us to face the music and to repent of our sin and turn to God. I hope that later on in June this year, you can join Father Mike Schmitz and myself in Israel. I think that's going to be a trip like on any other. It's going to be, if the borders open up, which I think they're going to, we're going to go to Israel together with many others, and we're going to celebrate in the Holy Land. God willing, I hope you'll join us. If you want to, you can go to my website, jeffcavens.com, sign up. We would love to have you there, because as we are going to be in Israel in June, we're going to also be reading the daily

readings with Father Mike, myself, in Israel. Let me pray for you. In the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, I love you, I praise you, I give you glory. Thank you, Lord, for the good cheer that you bring to my heart because of your work and your victory. Help us, oh God, not to be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Lord, help us to be faithful. Help us to let the light shine in our life and to obtain wisdom to walk. Help us, oh God, to be focused on your kingdom and to make it a point to overcome evil with good. We also thank you for the graces of our mother who has been given to us as a mother who helps us in difficult times.

In Jesus' name, we pray, amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen. By the way, this is a plus. This is a good quote. It's from Pope Francis in a homily at St. Mary Major, he said, where the Madonna is at home, the devil does not enter. Where there is the mother, disturbance does not prevail. Fear does not win. God bless you. Thank you.