The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Your God Is Too Small

Episode Date: December 8, 2023

Is God big or small in your life? What does it mean for God to be big in your life? Jeff Cavins addresses the fact that so many of us are facing significant challenges and sufferings in our lives. He asks us to ponder whether we make God big in our lives or if we set him aside and make him small. He encourages that if we make God big in our lives, he can help us face our problems and be a reflection of his goodness to others. Snippet from the Show If you don’t spend time with Jesus, God will become too small for any problem that you are facing. 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!

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 353. Your God is too small. Well, you're probably wondering about the title for today's show, Your God is Too Small. I want to talk to you about that. Before we get into this, I do want to invite you to get the show notes. I oftentimes will leave some pretty good notes behind, and if you want those, we'll give

them to you automatically every week, every show. All you got to do is type my name, Jeff Kaven's one word, and text it to the number 33777. That's two threes and three seven. It's three three seven seven. That's it. Just text my name. We'll get those to you right away. You know, back in the 1980s, I was a young pastor.

This was after I left the Catholic Church and before I had returned to the Catholic Church, I was a pastor for 12 years. And I started to recognize something. And that was that when we went out and witnessed to people about Jesus Christ and told people about our relationship with Jesus Christ, there was two ways that we could go about it. One way was that we could just kind of hint at our relationship with God. you know, sort of like put some breadcrumbs out there, you know, not tell people exactly who God is to us and how proud we are of Jesus Christ and we praise him and give him

glory and depend on him for everything, but we would kind of just step into the witness a little bit. And it didn't get very, very far along. And what we found out was that when we witness to people and we just let the joy of the Lord shine and we tell people what we really think about the Lord and what the Lord says, you know, the good news, the charygma, we found out that those who we just sort of said a few things to, they were not interested. But the people that were interested were the people that we really just let it out there and told them what what God means in our life and how he's changed our life. And we're so excited about it and we want to share it with them and that God is the God

of the miracles and he can do anything and everything. And we don't put limits on God. So what we found out was the makings really of a book that was written quite a few years before the 1980s. In fact, it was written in 1952. J.B. Phillips wrote the book. It's called Your God is Too Small. Your God is too small.

What do you mean, Jeff? My God is too small. God is God. Yeah, but the way you might portray him gives people the idea that he's too small. They're looking for something bigger than that. They're looking for something bigger and more powerful and wiser than what you are portraying about God. Now, I got to thinking about that, and I have revisited this topic all throughout the last, I don't know, 40 years or so. and I was thinking about it this last week,

and I wanted to share with you a little bit about it. J.B. Phillips said something really interesting. He said, your God is too small. And if you look at the reasons why he wrote the book, basically people gave up on Christianity, and they were giving up on Christianity by the droves because of the confined witness of Christians. Christians were not accurately,

bearing witnesses to who Jesus was. They were, in a sense, false witnesses because they portrayed Jesus as this weak, anemic, insipid being who was more like a Woodstock character with peace symbols on his shirt than anything else, rather than the robust, powerful, merciful, all, you know, omniscient God that he is. And so his conclusive, and so his conclusive, conclusion, J.B. Phillips's conclusion was that the problem is that their God is too small when he is, in fact, much, much bigger than people are letting on. And so that got me to think, you know, about this and put out a challenge to people to, you know, if you're going to witness about Jesus Christ, tell people the truth, you know, tell them the truth of what he did

to die for our sin and overcome death, hell, in the grave, and that he can do, he can do anything, and he can change anybody's life. So as we live in a spirit of the gospel, our souls grow. As we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, our souls can grow, and our understanding of Jesus grows as well. There's a phrase that was used in the early church in a document called Pirke Avote, which is the sayings of the fathers. And I've always enjoyed this saying. It says, for one who's learning exceeds one's deeds, that learning will not endure. But for the one whose deeds exceed one's learning, one's learning does endure.

In other words, if you will back up what you believe and what you're learning by doing, then you have a better chance of keeping your faith. Why? Because believing is one thing, but then putting it into practice and walking in obedience to Jesus, which means walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, you stand a better chance of keeping your faith and you stand a better chance of igniting passion in other people. Listen, people, especially in the times that we're living in right now, people are not interested in some weak and anemic faith.

they're not interested in someone kind of pussyfoot around and just being very cautious about talking about God. I've never known that to really, really work. I came into a reading the other day about C.S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia. Maybe you've heard that or read that book one time or another, that series. That's a series that I would recommend that everybody read because it's really a beautiful story that parallels Jesus Christ and his relationship to us. And in the Chronicles of Narnia, there's this scene that is very, very powerful where Lucy encounters Aslan, the Lion King. And Aslan is portrayed as Christ, a type of Christ. So Lucy encounters Aslan, the Lion King, her hero and her champion once again.

And she says, Aslan, Aslan, dear Aslan, sobbed Lucy. At last, the great beast rolled over on his side so that Lucy fell half sitting and half lying between his front paws. He bent forward and just touched her nose with his tongue. His warm breath came all around her. and she gazed up into the large, wise face of Aslan.

Welcome, child, he said. Aslan, said Lucy, you're bigger. That is because you are older, little one, answered Aslan. Not because you are, said Lucy. I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger. remembering that Aslan is a picture of Jesus Christ. Lucy's observation of him is phenomenal.

It's phenomenal. I got to tell you, C.S. Lewis is a genius. And he brings up something there that I think is really, really powerful. Do you remember as a kid, we'll get back to that in a second, but do you remember as a kid, you played in your backyard, you went to Grandma's house, you went to the farm, wherever it might be, and it seemed like everything was so big. It was just so otherworldly in some ways. And then, you know, that was when you were seven, eight, nine, ten years old.

And then when you were 20, 30 years old, you went back to that place. Hadn't been there for a long, long time. And when you went back there, everything was so small. So small. Your bedroom looms huge in your memory, as does your tree house. the school, you know, track and field and the football stadium and everything else, and you go back, and it's so small. You've outgrown the things which once appeared so large to your eye, and now you have a proper

perspective of what seems so big when you were a kid, but in actuality, now that you're older, it seems so small. The importance of stuff shrinks with time, doesn't it? And this is what makes Aslan unique, is that Lucy encounters him, but not as he was. Unlike the bedroom, he is not in reality smaller than she remembered. And the wonderful thing, the wonderful thing about this is that while most things in the past seem smaller, now that we are older, Jesus will appear to us not smaller, but bigger, bigger. You see, you're more mature now. And as you mature in the Lord, as you grow in the Holy Spirit, as you grow as a disciple of the Lord,

he doesn't shrink, but he appears bigger, bigger. And what Lucy asked Aslan was, she said, you got bigger. He said, no, no. You got older. You got old. you see more of me now. You've experienced more of me now. And I think that that is so beautiful. We could say that when I was younger, you seem smaller, but now that I'm older, you are even bigger to me. He becomes bigger because we have walked with him and we see what he does. And I would bear witness to that in my own life that when I first started walking with Jesus as a young man 18 years old. He was big. Don't get me wrong. He was big. And I thought I knew a lot. You know, as I was reading the Bible back there in my first year of college, I thought I knew an

awful lot. And you would think that I would look back now and I would see Jesus as simply smaller. But I saw him big back then. I saw him big. But today, I don't see him as small. today I think he's bigger and the reason that I think that he is bigger is because of the time spent with him you see the Lord isn't going to get bigger the Lord isn't going to get smaller the Lord is the same yesterday today today and forever I want to take a break when we come back I want to talk about this a little bit more and talk about just how big God is and that into what J.B. Phillips was talking about. Your God is too small. We are the ones that need to make the adjustment. We are the ones who need to see him for who he really is and then be

accurate in our witness and not witness to people about Jesus as though it was back when we were seven years old when God was small, but he is bigger than ever. You're listening to the Jeff Kaven show. Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz. I want to let you know about an exciting announcement that could revolutionize the way you listen to the Bible in the year and the Catechism in the Year. Ascension has released a new Bible and Catechism app called the Ascension app. In this app, you get the entire text of the Great Adventure Bible. This is incredible. You also get the entire text of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as long with the Catechism in a year podcast, the Bible in a year podcast, and transcripts for each episode. If you're like,

I'm tired of listening to that guy, I just want to read it. There's complete transcripts from each and every episode. One thing that makes this app incredibly unique is that it includes special features that make connections between the Bible and the Catechism so crystal clear through color-coded references and all these links. The hyperlinks are amazing. I tried it out and I'm like, oh my gosh, it kind of has changed the way I read through the Catechism, kind of changed the way I read through the Bible. These features will help you navigate the Bible and Catechism even more seamlessly so you can get more out of your experience. Also, the app provides almost 1,000 answers to Bible questions, the people who listen to the Bible in the year, they wrote in with their

questions. Almost a thousand answers, and those answers come in the form of audio clips, video clips, as well as resources excerpted from some of Ascansion's published works. If you want to download this app for free, super simple, just go to the app store and search for Ascension app. I am telling you, if learning about the Bible and the catechism is important to you, then this app will change your life. Well, thanks for sticking with me here. We are talking about your God is too soon. small. And if you're in a situation right now where you really need the help of the Lord, you need wisdom and insight, the one thing you don't need is you don't need that God who is too

small. You know, the memory in the past, you need God for who he is. And he is big. And he's bigger in my life than he was when I was 18. At 18, he was bigger than he was when I was 10. And the reason he keeps getting bigger in my mind and in my heart is because I get to spend more time with him and I get to see what he does and understand his heart and understand his plan for us. And it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. If you don't spend time with Jesus, then your God will become too small for any problem that you are facing. And I think a lot of people are experiencing that dynamic right now in their life. They say, man, I've got adult-sized problems now in my life, financial, relational, emotional.

I've got huge problems in my life now. And the God that I knew when I was 10 cannot handle this. Well, maybe not. But if you will look at God for who he really is today, you'll find out he's not too small, but he's huge and he can handle the situation that you're in. Maybe that's why you're listening today is that you need to know in your heart that God can handle the situation that you're in. if you will turn your will over to him and turn your life completely over to him,

allow him to work in you in the way he works in people. There comes a time in our life where we have to leave the nursery rhymes behind. We have to leave the children's stories behind. And I think that one of the problems that we face in America today is that when we were raised as children, the stories of the Bible were on the same level. as popular nursery rhymes, you know, Hansel and Gretel and the rest of them. And there wasn't a separation point where we started to realize that God is bigger than Hansel and Gretel. He is better than any of these stories that we grew up with or cartoons. He's bigger. But if we still see him

right next to all of these children's stories, then naturally he's not going to be able to handle your situation. And that's where we break from that childish, that childish view of who God is. And we begin to look at him for who he really said he was in what he can do. I like what Paul said to the Colossians in Colossians 2 and verse 3. I'll put it in the notes for you. He said, in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. That's pretty big. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Now, because in the New Testament we get a glimpse of who Jesus is revealing the Father and just how magnificent and large God is and how majestic and holy and completely other

than what we do when we get around the Lord is we don't just bring him down to our level, but what do we do? We magnify the Lord. We magnify the Lord. Not because he needs to be magnified, but we need to see him for who he really is and the size he is. Again, is your God too small? There's a Psalm that really says this so well. It's Psalm 34. In Psalm 34 verses 3 through 6, it says this. And he uses a Hebrew word called Gaddao, gad for magnified. gadal to be in this word godal magnify uh means to become great important powerful to grow and so here's here's what it says in psalm 34 and verse three through six oh magnify the lord with me and let us exalt his name together i sought the lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears look to him and be radiant so your

face shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. My dear friend, that is for you this week. Psalm 34, verses 3 through 6, that's for you this week. And what I challenge you to do is, oh, magnify the Lord, in your own mind, in your own thinking, see him for who he really is. He is great. He is important. He is powerful. He is becoming even bigger in our hearts. Just like Lucy said about Aslan, you're bigger. No, no, sweetheart. No, I'm not. You're older. You're seeing more of me now. You've been walking with me. God is bigger than you are portraying him to be. That's a wonderful, wonderful thing to take with you for the rest of this week.

Let me give you a few scriptures here that talk about this, and it's such a powerful way. And I was able to go back into some of my notes and even grab some quotes from the past that really have been, have really ministered to me. And I'll put a couple of these in the notes for you. So you don't have to pull over on the side of the road there. but Isaiah 55 verse 8 and 9 says

for my thoughts are not your thoughts this is God talking my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways says the Lord for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than

your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts so you see that if you spend time with Jesus and you walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and you have a knowledge of the mind of God, the more you do that, you're going to realize that his ways are far higher than your ways. His thoughts are far higher than your thoughts. And the more you spend with him, as far as time, he grows in your estimation. He grows in your estimation.

Isaiah 40 in verse 28 says, have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth he does not faint or grow weary his understanding is unsearchable that's powerful isn't it i love it job 26 14 lo these are but the outskirts of his ways and how small a whisper do we hear of him but the thunder of his power who can understand is so big so powerful You know, do you remember that when you're a kid growing up and someone would say to you, you know, you get into a little bit of a tiff with someone and then the other friend says to you, my dad can beat up your dad. So yeah?

Yeah. Let's see. All right. And you always wanted to go to battle with somebody else, but you didn't want to battle with them firsthand. You wanted your dads to battle. Well, guess what? Your Heavenly Father will battle. your heavenly father will battle

the battles you're facing the things that are bringing you down today and discouraging you today I got news for you and your thinking and that is this God is able God is able I don't know what it is you're facing this week

but I'm sensing you are facing something and you're wondering is God going to come through God will come through God will be faithful and kind and merciful and all-powerful. Give him room. Give him room to shine. Walk by faith. Don't look at all the circumstances and just say, oh, woe is me, but give God an opportunity to show himself strong and faithful

in your life. A.W. Tozer, it was a famous evangelical writer. I used to read a lot of his books back in the 80s. He's got some really good insights. He said, because God knows all things perfectly, he knows no thing better than any other thing, but all things equally well. He never discovers anything. He is never surprised, never amazed. Now, that's kind of speaking broadly. We know that Jesus was amazed at certain people's faith, to be sure. But I think you get the idea there, and that is this. God is so big that he is not going to discover anything. It's like, oh, I didn't see that in that corner of the universe. Wow, that's a new one. No, he is all-knowing, and that's the one that's living inside of you. Saul made three, when I look at thy heavens,

the work of thy hands and the fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established. What is man that thou art mindful of him in the son of man that thou dost care for him? That's so powerful, isn't it? Azlin isn't bigger, by the way. You are. And God will seem bigger when you continue to walk with him. Bigger and bigger. And I would say this, that in 10 years from now, God is going to be bigger than today for you. If you will walk with him. If you will walk with him. But if you don't walk with him you know what what might happen is just exactly what happens with that empty lot next to grandma's house that you played in when you were a kid and you went back when you were 30 and it wasn't a great

big park it was just almost a half of a lot and it was so small and the trees weren't even that big and if you don't walk with god for 10 15 20 30 years you go back to these memories of a very small god as a child like a nursery rhyme like a children's story but as paul said he said i used to think like a child and act like a child but now i'm a man i'm going to act and i'm going to walk like a man and we are serving a god who does the miraculous a god who can who can deal with any situation he deals with our sin he can deal with our emotions he can bring peace to our lives when we feel like absolutely giving up. But I just want to encourage you with those words today, my friend.

I'm here to encourage you in this, and that is that God isn't bigger. He's always been big, but you've gotten older, and he may seem bigger. But this week, think about this. Is your God too small? If your God is too small for the situations that you're facing right now, then why in the world would you share him with anybody else who has the same problems? That's something to think about. Why would you share Christ with anybody else if he's too small to handle your life and your situation?

Give it to him today. I want to pray with you right now. And it's a prayer of faith. It's a prayer of commitment that, Lord, we're going to commit ourselves to you. And Lord Jesus, we're not going to act like you're small, but you are big and we're going to give you the situations in our life let's pray in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit lord jesus we love you so much and lord we thank you that you are omniscient and omnipotent you are you are everything the creator of the world and you know the beginning

from the end you know how many hairs are on our head or the lack thereof you know jesus everything in our heart and our whole history. And Lord, we don't need a childish God. We need you for who you really are the creator of the universe. We magnify you today. We magnify you and give you praise and glory and honor. And we give to you, Lord, the situation that we are facing today. And we ask you, Lord, be you in the situation that we are giving you. Lord, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, ask you to encourage our hearts we ask you lord to show us how to go forward in the situation that we are in we give you lord that room to do the miraculous to change hearts at work at home in our own family the relationships that we have with our neighbors our finances our emotions every

aspect of our life lord jesus you bring light into darkness and we're going to believe that this week Thank you. Thank you that you are not too small for what we're facing, but you are big. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I love you, my friend. I really do. And again, if you do want the show notes, just type out my name, Jeff Kaven's one word, and text it to the number 3377.

God bless you. Look forward to talking to you next week. Thank you.