The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - We Need a Revival!

Episode Date: September 27, 2024

Our world is afflicted by conflict and suffering today. And where is the voice of the Church? Jeff Cavins recounts his experiences and the cultural shift that occurred during the Jesus Movement in the late 1960’s and early 1970s. These are the days of Elijah, and it is our turn to stand up and demonstrate the Gospel to this generation. Snippet from the Show We need to demonstrate the gospel with the way we talk, the way we live, and the way we treat one another. 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 https://media.ascensionpress.com/?s=&page=2&category%5B0%5D=Ascension%20Podcasts&category%5B1%5D=The%20Jeff%20Cavins%20Show for full shownotes!

Welcome to the Jeff Kaven show, where we talk about the Bible, discipleship, and evangelization, putting it all together and living as activated disciples. This is show 396. We need a revival. Welcome to the show this week, my friend, so good to be with you. Under unusual circumstances, circumstances today with the show. I'm not deep in the woods of Minnesota today, no. I'm deep into the Middle East. I'm in Jerusalem today in the midst of a clash between Israel and Hezbollah and Hamas. And isn't the world changing? Never before have I felt such, such change and such peril in the world and we have we have an election coming up we have ideas that are that are conflicting and wow where's the voice of the church in in all of this what do we have to say you know i hear so

many people that will will say to me jove what's happening in the world are we falling apart what do you think our children are going to be facing if we continue on like this and certainly with world conflict the war for example what's going on over here right now, you know, in Israel, what's the answer to it? And I think that the answer is only one thing, and that is the Prince of Peace. That's Jesus. I really, I truly believe that, that Jesus is the only answer that's really going to bring peace over here, where I'm at right now in Jerusalem. And I think that it's a time where we need to pray. It's a time where we need to to live our faith in such a way that people can see the power and the demonstration of Jesus.

I think we're beyond the point where simply talking about what we believe is going to have any impact on what's happening in the world. I think we need to demonstrate the gospel with the way we talk and the way we live and the way we treat one another. Okay, so by the way, if you want show notes for my show, all you have to do is text my name, Jeff Kavens, one word and text it to the number 3377. That's 3377. We'll get the show notes for you, scriptures, citations from the catechism. Every show they'll be delivered to you. So here we are. There was a reading this last week from Luke chapter 9. It really got me thinking about the impact that we are having on the world, we meaning you and me, Christians in the world, from Luke

Chapter 9, it was when Herod the Tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying that John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. Others were saying Elijah has appeared, and still others one of the ancient prophets has risen. But Herod said, John I beheaded, who then is this about whom I hear such thing? which was Jesus, and he kept trying to see Jesus, but he was perplexed. He was perplexed regarding Jesus. In other words, he was confused. Who is this guy? What is happening and what's happening in the followers of this guy? It made a difference in the political leaders. And while this show is not a political show by any stretch of the imagination, I think that it's fair to say that our leaders today,

our political leaders today, perhaps are not being influenced by the voice of the church and the witness of Christians. And that's something that we need to do, rise up and let our voice be heard and bring Jesus into the discussion of world events, whether it be peace or whether it be modern-day child sacrifice or whether it be people who are in the face of despair, unemployment, addictions of every kind. We as Christians need to stand up for God and his message, the message of the kingdom in the face of all of these very, very difficult subjects. Well, there was a song that was very popular a while ago, and it was written and sung by a man

by the name of Robin Mark. Now, I know he's saying it. I think he wrote it. And you probably are familiar with the lyrics. I know that in some of the conferences at Steubenville, they sing this song, These are the days of Elijah, declaring the word of the Lord, and these are the days of your servant Moses, righteousness, being restored. And though these are days of great trial, of famine and darkness and sword, still, we are the voice in the desert crying, prepare ye the way of the Lord. I love that song because it really is, you know, it's so biblical and speaks about our response to these difficult days that we are, that we're living in, these days of famine and darkness and sword. And we are the ones who have to be that voice to prepare the way of

the Lord. So I wanted to talk to you just briefly today from Jerusalem about some ideas about revival. I've been a part of revival back in the 1970s. There was a revival that swept the United States and South America and parts of Europe. And it was affectionately called the Jesus movement or the Jesus revival. And it involved people of all denominations. We had evangelicals and we had baptists. Non-denominational Christians played a big role in that revival. But it starts. really in the late 60s and moved on into the 70s and it spread, it spread throughout the whole country. But then by the 1980s, it started to subside. And I think we're in need of another revival. Now, the Eucharistic Congress that we just attended, many of you attended, I attended

it. And I think that that's part of this. Maybe that's the beginning of a revival that's needed in our country today. You know, back then in the 70s, the people had titles for us. It's kind of funny. They called people Jesus people. In fact, I ended up going to a church in a Bible study at a place called Jesus People Church.

Sometimes they called us Jesus freaks. And I was called by my friends a Jesus freak. I'm assuming that a freak means that just somebody who's different, you know, and that we are running around our Bibles and proclaiming, proclaiming Jesus. But this movement had a big impact on culture in America for many reasons. And I want to share some of them with you today and also give a couple of suggestions on what

we can do to ensure that our voice is heard, that the voice of the kingdom of God is part of the mix. One is, when I look back at this, one aspect of the revival was that the faith of people, people, whether they were young or whether they were older, the voice and the faith of the people wasn't something that was hidden. It wasn't something that, you know, where we went to a church, shut the door, talked to each other about it, preached to each other about it, and then just went out and did our jobs. And that was kind of the end of it. One of the keys that marked this revival was that, yes, people did go to their church and they did listen to preaching. They

did have studies and they had praise nights and so forth, but it didn't stay within the walls of the parish or the church. It went out into the streets, into the businesses, and people brought that message of the kingdom, that message of peace and restoration to the people who were really broken. And so for many back in the 70s, particularly the early 70s, they considered their faith to be private. It was a private affair. I remember growing up in those days. I remember even my own family saying, well, our faith is a private thing. We don't really talk about it. And when you think about that, it's kind of ludicrous, isn't it? I mean, it's a little bit crazy to think that one of the last things that Jesus said in Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 28, was to go into the whole world

and proclaim the gospel. And now we'll say, in response, well, it's private. Well, Yeah, there's a certain aspect of our faith that is private, to be sure. But we have a responsibility to go out and let the light shine and shout it from the rooftops. And we can do this, yes, with our lifestyle. But we can also do this by speaking to one another and speaking to those who are broken about the kingdom of God and how much Jesus loves them. The second thing that marked the revival was that Christians back in the 70s, the late 60s in the 70s, Christians were providing concrete answers to the questions of the day. People were singing about problems. People were writing about it. It was on television, and Christians were giving a powerful answer to the problem. to the problems that the culture was experiencing.

Take, for example, what's happening over here in the Middle East, where I'm at right now, and people are asking, what is the solution, Jeff, to this conflict in the Middle East? And it could be to any conflict in the world. The answer to it is Jesus. It isn't just legislation. It's not about arms. It's not about budgets and so forth. That's all part of living, and that's all part of an economy.

me, but the answer to the problem is Jesus. And so the thing that we have to do is we have to find ways of communicating that message to people who are lost or people who are greatly concerned about what's happening in the world today. And I think that's an art. Now, when I say that's an art, I'm talking about the art of evangelization of being able to understand the topics of today and then take the gospel and apply the gospel to the broken world that we live in. Whether it's a single life, or it's a city or a nation, the answer really is the same, and that is the Prince of Peace, the one who can overcome, the one who can change hearts. And this is the heart of evangelization, is communicating the message of the kingdom,

that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory. of God and that God loves everyone and has an amazing plan for their life. But sin has gotten in the way. It really has. And to the degree that we are honest with people and that we proclaim that message, which is not an old message, it's not an out-of-date message. It's the truth. And the truth sets people free.

It's just a matter of do we have the guts to tell the truth to the people that we're talking to? so one is we didn't keep it to ourselves this gospel two was that we were giving answers to the problems of the day now i've got two more that i want to share with you i'm going to take a break right now and i'm going to be back don't go away and we're going to we're going to hit number three and number four and then a couple of suggestions on where do we go from here you're listening to the jeff kavin show Hi, I'm Father Michael Joseph Paris, and I am one of the hosts of Season 3 of Catholic Classics, where we'll read and explain the story of a soul by St. Teresa of Liseu, Doctor of the Church,

an incredible saint who has inspired millions of Catholics with her life and teachings. To follow along, get the reading plan at ascensionpress.com slash Catholic Classics. Thanks for returning, my friend. We're talking about four things that marked the Jesus' movement. if you will, in the late 60s and 70s in the United States and South America and Europe. The first one was that we didn't consider our faith private. We shared our faith with other people. The second was that we provided solid answers for the pain and the suffering of people in the day.

And we could do that today. The third thing that marked the revival in the 60s and 70s was the attitude that nothing was impossible with God. That's the way we lived. We carried on like the gospel was true and that Jesus would do through us what he did through the early disciples and that if we told people the truth about sin, repentance, and faith and receiving Christ into their life, that we would see changes. We believed that with all of our heart. And so we acted in accordance to that. And the sky was the limit for us and that was so thrilling and so fun to go out and to just sort of let the gospel go and and share with no fear share with people who are broken you know we have to be

honest about this we are living in a culture today of really broken people who are addicted to all kinds of things their lives are falling apart they're looking for answers but they're they're looking for answers everywhere but around us unless of course we begin to rise up in a good way in a loving way and share that message now that song these are the days of elijah is so apropos for where we're at because that's what we experienced before you know elijah was the one who he was the prophet who stood against the prophets of bail on mount carmel and he stood against that and he was willing to even give his life for it. And I think that these are the days of Elijah where we are seeing like the Canaanites child sacrifice, we're seeing despair. We are

seeing addiction and suffering in people's lives. And we have to be bold like Elijah and stand and say, God will come through. God will come through and change lives if he can move through us. are the conduit in which God speaks to a generation. And we stand up and allow God to speak to this generation. You know, Paul said it this way in 1 Corinthians 2, and I'll put it in the show notes for you. But Paul said in 1st Corinthians 2, 3 through 5, and I'm not going to read all of that, but he said, and I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling. And maybe you feel that way. You're saying, Jeff, you expect us to have an answer. for the problem in the Middle East and have an answer for all of the problems of addiction and

despair in the world today. I feel weak myself. I'm a bit fearful myself and trembling. Well, Paul says, and I was with you in weakness. And I was with you in fear. And I was with you in trembling. And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration. of the spirit of power, the spirit and of power. Isn't that beautiful? Let me say that last part again there. Paul says, my message and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom

of men, but in the power of God. Now, this third point brings me to this point, and that is this. we are spending so much time in our culture watching cable news, watching network news. We are spending so much of our time listening to the wisdom of men. And Paul explicitly says, he says, my message is not just in plausible words of wisdom, but in a demonstration of the spirit and a power that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men. Now, if our faith in our message does not rest in the wisdom of men, why do we spend so much time listening to the wisdom of men rather than addressing the brokenness of people in the world

today to take every opportunity not to give people the wisdom of men? Well, so-and-so says this and Senator this and Representative this and this actor. And that's not our message. Our message is not the political pundits on on fox or cnn or you know any of the other online networks on the internet that's not our message and and we have demonstrated a certain level of confidence in sharing the wisdom of men with people we don't seem to have a problem saying did you hear what hannity said or did you hear what and you can name them and i'm not speaking ill of any of these people i'm sure they're all fine people. But what I am speaking about is our message that will contribute to a movement that brings repentance to this nation and brings people to Jesus. That's what I'm talking about.

Now, there was also back then a real, this is number four, a real sense of solidarity. We were one. We had each other's back. We met with each other's. other often. We listened to the music. We talked about that. We talked about what we were receiving in the Word of God, which means we were together. And if we're going to be scattered, we stand a much less chance of being an influence in the culture. Back then, we were together a lot and sharing the good things that we were discovering in the Bible and praying for each other and bringing a friend or two to the group so that we could pray for them. We were the body of Christ.

Very, very, very powerful. Nothing is impossible with God. And we are the body of Christ. And you know, and I think I've mentioned this like three or four years ago, if you were listening then, that an interesting thing happened in 1972 at a huge Jesus Expo in Dallas, Texas. A young Polish American.

one man, one Polish-American by the name of Joe Lossiak. He attended the Expo in 1972 in Dallas, and he was so moved by the workings of God that he introduced the concepts of the Expo to Roman Catholic officials in Poland. I think you know where this is going. as a cardinal in Poland, Carol Wojtya, Pope John Paul II later, was heavily influenced regarding evangelistic efforts by the testimony of Joe LaSciac. Now, this changed man, Joe, one man, was the seed for the idea of World Youth Day. Now, I covered World Youth Day on EWTN.

I was there with the Pope covering this. John Paul the second. And that was in France, in 98, in 2000, it was Rome. And then after that, it was Toronto, Canada. And all of these, these millions of people who came together in World Youth Day, they were influenced by this one guy, an American Polish man, who went back to Pope John Paul the second. He was cardinal back then and just shared with him these ideas, the things that he experienced. Now, that was powerful. And by the way, if you ever get a, you know, get a copy of this, you can read the full article, the May issue of Christianity Today in 2005, May 2005, Christianity Today. And that article documents the Expo's effects on St. Pope John Paul

the second. And what's interesting in that article is that the research showed that 60% of the Expo attendees went into full-time ministry of some type. Contemporary Christian music was born back then, and it went on to change millions and millions of lives. Wow. That's what happened. Now, here's a couple things I would suggest. One is that we need to focus on not just learning more about our faith. as far as doctrines and teachings, theology, it's all good, it's all wonderful, and I'm a huge fan of it, and I spend time studying that, and teaching it at the seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and teaching around the country. But there has to be a movement that goes from simply consuming the faith to living the faith

outside of the church which necessitates a voice that we can articulate the gospel that God has an amazing plan for your life. Sin has disrupted this plan. Repentance is called for. That is looking at our relationship with the Lord in a new way. We're turning that leaf. repentance, repentance is this turning from what is killing us and turning to the Lord. That is the gospel and that's what changes the heart. You see, when we share the corigma, the proclamation of the gospel, look at, you know, I've got many shows on the corigma. You can go back and look at those.

But when we share the corigma, which is the proclamation of the gospel, it in itself has power to get into the hearts of people and do the work that we are. afraid that we can't do and we can't we don't have that power but we do have the gospel and there is power in the gospel okay so that's number one number two is prayer you cannot minute you you just you just can't say it enough prayer is power prayer moves mountains prayer is cooperating with God. And I believe that prayer was a part of that revival back in the 60s and 70s, just like I believe that the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis was the result of much, much prayer, much prayer. And lives began to change. But we cannot just say, well, yeah, that was one thing,

you know, in Indianapolis. Now what do we do? We have to have a continuation of it, a continuation of that that happened in Indianapolis. So that's what I wanted to share with you from Jerusalem today. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray that Jesus will have his way with people. This is so difficult over here. Just this evening, I was out to dinner with some friends and the waitress who came out to wait on us,

I asked her, did October 7th when Hamas came into Israel and killed over 1,200 people, how did that impact you? Did you have family or friends that experienced it? And you should have heard what she said. She just talked for about, I'd say, 10 to 15 minutes about how it impacted her and how it has impacted the people of Israel. and we're able to share a little bit of the gospel and why we were in Israel at this time with her. And wow, people are broken. But let's pray, shall we right now? I'm just sharing this with you because here I am in Jerusalem and I know that we need the days of Elijah to stand up

against child sacrifice and despair and addictions of all kind and we need the Lord like never before and so the beginning is prayer it's prayer intercession it's intercession it is binding the powers over cities the demonic powers over cities it is praying for people to go out into the harvest and bring souls to the Lord we're not going to impact the world by simply studying. But studying is so key. But studying isn't just for the sake of studying. It is we're studying to know what we should be doing in terms of our behavior and our speech at work at home in the neighborhood and so forth. Let's pray together. Let's pray right now. I'm in Jerusalem and I'm praying with you in agreement. In the name of the Father and the Son and the

Holy Spirit. Oh, Jesus, we need a revival. We need a revival, Lord, an outpouring of your Holy Spirit, just like I was in the upper room a couple of days ago. We need that kind of outpouring of the spirit of God in our lives. Lord, we need to walk in courage and we need to walk in sincerity and humility. Help us, Lord, to take that next step, to bring the gospel to this world. Lord, deliver us from the wisdom of men and so much time dedicated to that rather than your word and the good news. Help us, Lord, to make that transition. In Jesus' name, amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. I love you. I'll be back home. Deep in the woods of Minnesota. Look forward to talking to you next week.

Thank you.