Charlie Kirk on the Church, the Sabbath, and How One Day Can Transform Your Life

[00:00] And uh so Charlie question for you. So

[00:02] when you say church, which church is it?

[00:05] A Vatican?

[00:06] >> No. I mean, so in in the scriptures, it

[00:08] says Christ used the word ecclesia.

[00:11] >> And this is the other important thing,

[00:12] which is that we say separation, church,

[00:14] and state,

[00:15] >> but I don't want to belabor the prior

[00:17] conversation without his ability to

[00:18] defend it. But Christ did not use the

[00:20] word synaguay or temple. Ekklesia was

[00:23] actually a secular Greek term that meant

[00:25] political gathering. And so Christ

[00:28] called us to get involved in politics.

[00:30] He called us to get involved in the

[00:32] public square intentionally in the coin

[00:34] Greek. So by the church we mean and

[00:37] there's lots of interpretations but I

[00:39] believe if you subscribe to the basic

[00:41] teachings of the nian creed which is if

[00:43] you believe in the death burial u

[00:45] resurrection of Christ Jesus the the

[00:47] inherency of scripture the virgin birth

[00:49] right you believe in the creation of the

[00:51] world you believe in the decalogue then

[00:54] you are part of a collective church I

[00:57] speak out more than almost anybody else

[00:59] on what I would call heretical teaching

[01:01] when people say that well you don't need

[01:03] the old testament or they'll say that

[01:05] the Old Testament is flawed or they'll

[01:07] say that you know Christ Jesus uh he

[01:10] committed some miracles but not all

[01:11] miracles. So I wouldn't necessarily put

[01:13] them in the church but when I when I say

[01:16] the broad church there is in the Nyian

[01:18] creed it uses the term Catholic church.

[01:20] It's actually a small Catholic not a big

[01:23] Catholic church and that means more the

[01:25] universal church. I'm not here to say

[01:27] who's a Christian and who is not. I'm

[01:29] gonna allow Almighty God to uh

[01:32] >> basically make those final judgments and

[01:34] those determinations. But here is what I

[01:36] will say is that if you if Jesus is king

[01:39] of your life

[01:41] >> and if you honor his commands the best

[01:43] ability you can and you believe in the

[01:45] inherency of scripture and you are

[01:46] teaching that I would consider you as

[01:48] part of the broader Christian family.

[01:50] >> You know that is such a wonderful point

[01:51] that Charlie Kirk brings up and it's

[01:53] something that we should definitely be

[01:54] thinking about. When you have a

[01:55] relationship with Jesus Christ, the

[01:58] Sabbath is not a burden. It ends up

[01:59] becoming a blessing. And this is

[02:01] something very fascinating because when

[02:02] you have a relationship, now I was born

[02:04] and raised in the church. One of the

[02:05] first things I learned was you have this

[02:08] list of things you're supposed to do,

[02:09] but until it actually became Jesus in my

[02:12] life being my Lord and Savior, I began

[02:14] to realize that keeping his law is not a

[02:16] burden. It's wonderful. You brought up a

[02:19] wonderful point about how you have to

[02:21] integrate it into your lifestyle. And

[02:23] that's really what God is trying to

[02:24] bring. He's trying to integrate himself

[02:26] into your whole lifestyle from day one

[02:29] to day two to day three. And he wants

[02:30] you to rest on that Sabbath day. I think

[02:32] I came to one of the most fascinating

[02:34] discussions that are going on right now.

[02:35] And Charlie, first of all, thank you

[02:37] again so much for being here. Second of

[02:38] all, it's amazing that you yourself

[02:41] honored the Sabbath and we are so very

[02:42] happy for that. Also, go ahead. No. And

[02:44] I I just want to say everyone here has

[02:46] been so cheerful and so amazing and and

[02:48] awesome that I my message to churches is

[02:52] you are missing out so sorely by by not

[02:56] honoring the Sabbath. And my advice to

[02:58] all of you that care about the Sabbath,

[02:59] we need to become better evangelists for

[03:02] the practice of honoring the Sabbath,

[03:04] how it strengthens your marriage, how it

[03:06] deepens your connection to God. And I

[03:09] think for some Christians, not all, that

[03:11] it might be the missing link

[03:14] >> of what they they, you know, they're

[03:16] like, Charlie, I'm going to church. I'm

[03:17] tithing. I'm singing the songs, but

[03:19] there's something missing. And I think

[03:21] it might be not honoring the Sabbath.

[03:22] >> There you go. And let's even dive a

[03:24] little bit deeper into especially when

[03:25] it comes to the culture. So when the

[03:26] church was a little bit more stronger in

[03:28] the American culture, we look at the

[03:29] early 1900s, we go into look at such

[03:32] directors as Ciso B. Deill. For those of

[03:34] you that remember the name, that is

[03:35] going to be the gentleman that wrote

[03:37] that made the movie The Ten Commandments

[03:39] and Ben her Oscar worthy blockbuster

[03:41] bestsellers. And there's something very

[03:43] fascinating when you bring up about how

[03:44] we're supposed to approach and be in the

[03:46] culture. I feel like in Christianity, we

[03:48] sort of took our foot off of the pedal,

[03:50] especially in Hollywood, in music, and

[03:52] everything. And as the old saying goes,

[03:54] nature abhores a vacuum. And it seems

[03:57] like secularism and consumerism and many

[03:59] other things filled that void to the

[04:01] point that now that we are here in 2025,

[04:04] we can't even recognize Hollywood. It

[04:06] feels like anytime we see an Oscars or

[04:07] something like that, there's a diet

[04:09] tribe against not just Christianity but

[04:11] America and everything else under the

[04:13] sun. Would you agree with that, Charlie?

[04:15] Without a doubt. And look, part of the

[04:17] problem that I I find with the issue of

[04:20] the Sabbath is one of distraction that

[04:23] people are so distracted. And it does

[04:26] come down to do you believe that there

[04:28] is a God and you are him? And if you

[04:30] believe those two things, then of course

[04:32] you should be. We're talking about one

[04:34] day a week. And I love what you just

[04:36] said is that it's the greatest blessing

[04:38] in my life to be able to turn off my

[04:40] devices. Do you guys I mean look, we're

[04:42] only a couple hours away from sundown.

[04:44] Don't you look forward to it?

[04:46] >> Don't you Aren't you excited about it?

[04:48] >> Absolutely.

[04:48] >> How many of you have sometimes been

[04:50] ending a long business trip and it's

[04:52] been a tough week, but you're like, "Oh,

[04:54] I have this beautiful little mini heaven

[04:57] waiting for me around the corner."

[04:59] Right? I I think we can do a much better

[05:01] job of just talking about how, and this

[05:04] is what won me over. Remember it was

[05:06] Dennis Prager, a religious Jew who would

[05:09] go on his radio program and talk about

[05:13] that I do not have to do the Sabbath. I

[05:16] get to do the Sabbath. And he says, I

[05:18] feel sorry for those of you that can't.

[05:21] And I I I would love to look at the

[05:23] data. I know you have it. I'm actually

[05:25] looking for it from my book that but

[05:26] there has been some studies. Sab Shabbat

[05:29] observers live longer. They're happier.

[05:31] They're less likely to be depressed.

[05:33] They're on less anti-depressants. They

[05:35] just are they have a much more enriched.

[05:37] They're more present. They're And I I

[05:39] want to reemphasize something I said

[05:41] prior, which is we are living in a hyper

[05:43] sick society. Our kids are sick. Half of

[05:46] our kids are in anti-depressants by the

[05:48] time they reach 18. These screens are

[05:51] just destroying and frying our kids'

[05:53] brains. And here we have, there's a

[05:55] whole chapter of my book dedicated to

[05:57] this. Here we have this ancient gift

[06:01] waiting for us. And it doesn't require

[06:04] mapping the human genome of which I

[06:05] agree with everything the doctor said.

[06:07] It just is just honor God's commands.

[06:09] >> You know that is such a great point

[06:10] especially when you want to bring up the

[06:12] research and data. It was Dr. Tim

[06:13] Rezenberger that was speaking just

[06:15] yesterday and he actually brought up the

[06:17] data to show that there's another

[06:18] denomination out there that doesn't use

[06:21] coffee, doesn't smoke, doesn't drink,

[06:23] but they don't live as long as 7th Day

[06:24] Adventists Mormons. They follow the same

[06:27] almost dietary laws but they don't live

[06:29] as long. And one of the primary reasons

[06:31] that we would argue is the fact that we

[06:33] have the 7th day Sabbath that we keep

[06:35] and that ability to rejuvenate your life

[06:36] and reset the whole week and just have a

[06:38] relationship with God and your family.

[06:40] You get to honor Christ and you get to

[06:43] honor the church and get to honor your

[06:44] family. It makes the biggest difference

[06:45] in the world.

[06:46] >> I have a question for seven for the

[06:48] practice which is what is the role for

[06:50] the the wife or the woman on Shabbat in

[06:53] seventh day Adventist because in Judaism

[06:55] it's a very big problem. It's called the

[06:57] Shabbat problem. Are you guys aware of

[06:58] this that the the wife actually works

[07:00] the hardest on Shabbat of all seven

[07:02] days? She's got to prepare the meals.

[07:05] No, it's a very ser it's it's like non-

[07:07] joking in in seventh day event. Is that

[07:10] as much of an issue or not as much? No.

[07:12] >> So, I'm going to keep it that way.

[07:14] >> We're going to say it very easily for

[07:15] us. Absolutely not. Because the man and

[07:17] the woman together as they are joined in

[07:18] one unity in Christ. The husband submits

[07:21] unto God. The wife submits unto the

[07:23] husband and for the whole unit is what

[07:25] I'm getting. the whole unit

[07:26] >> because in Shabbat it's a very serious

[07:28] meal preparation that has to undergo on

[07:31] Friday and then Saturday night and the

[07:33] old joke is that I'll finally get some

[07:35] rest when Shabbat is over and that's the

[07:38] and that's terrible. That's not God's

[07:39] design for us.

[07:40] >> Exactly.

[07:41] >> It shouldn't be a place of labor. And

[07:43] and the second is my other question is

[07:45] for the priest or the pastor in Seventh

[07:48] Day Adventist. Are are there is is that

[07:51] a laborious day? Is there teaching on

[07:53] the Shabbat? Just I'm cur enlighten me.

[07:55] >> So our pastors and our eldership meaning

[07:57] the ley that is a part of the church.

[07:59] When it comes to the Sabbath we tend to

[08:00] delegate who is going to do certain

[08:02] functions on the Sabbath. The pastor

[08:04] will speak but there's a whole function

[08:06] and form of the church that gets to

[08:08] pitch in. Everybody's involved in the

[08:09] Sabbath. It's not just one guy running

[08:11] the show. In the Adventist faith and we

[08:13] also believe in the Christian faith.

[08:14] Everybody is involved. And because you

[08:16] love your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

[08:18] you want to do his will.

[08:19] >> That's great. And that's the second

[08:20] thing is that in Judaism at least the

[08:23] the rabbi

[08:25] is exhausted by the end of Shabbat,

[08:27] right? He's doing services all day long

[08:29] and it's just I believe it should be a

[08:31] rest for all followers of God. That it

[08:33] needs to be a place where you're able to

[08:35] completely cease operation. And allow me

[08:37] to just remind you that Shabbat means

[08:39] stop. It means to stop what you are

[08:41] doing. To cease, to cancel, and to

[08:43] suspend.

[08:43] >> I know it's such a beautiful thing, the

[08:45] fourth commandment. Remember the Sabbath

[08:46] day to keep it holy. sixth day shalt

[08:47] thou labor and do all thy work, but on

[08:50] the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord

[08:51] thy God is a beautiful commandment. So

[08:52] that is absolutely inow for everyone.

[08:55] >> I'm going to make an argument that you

[08:57] guys may have never heard before because

[08:58] it's connected to um the let's just say

[09:02] vegetarian. Is that a better way to put

[09:04] it?

[09:04] >> Sure.

[09:06] >> Animals make an appearance in the Ten

[09:07] Commandments.

[09:08] >> Yeah.

[09:09] >> Cuz they get a Shabbat.

[09:10] >> Yes. They get to rest. It is the first

[09:12] time in the ancient world that there is

[09:14] a recognition from the Almighty that

[09:16] animals are not simply just to be used

[09:18] all the time for your purpose. That

[09:21] they're not the same as human beings,

[09:22] but they deserve a time of rest.

[09:24] >> Amen.

[09:25] >> It's a beautiful teaching that animals

[09:28] are not made in the image of God, but

[09:29] they are created and that they should

[09:31] not be abused and they should also be

[09:33] given rest. I I think that's a lesser

[09:35] appreciated beauty of the Ten

[09:36] Commandment.

[09:37] >> Amen. Okay. Thank you so much.

[09:41] Did you want to say anything else,

[09:42] Victor?

[09:42] >> No, I just want to say that no matter

[09:43] what you're going through and whatever

[09:45] we're having in your lives, just take a

[09:47] cue. If you want to experiment with the

[09:49] Sabbath, maybe you're not keeping it in

[09:50] your life. Try it. Keep 24 hours. Just

[09:53] do it. Take your family, deplug. Take

[09:56] yourself away from the internet. Be able

[09:58] to just take in the Lord. Open up your

[10:00] Bibles. Congregate. Come. Let us worship

[10:03] the spirit of the Lord. Worship God in

[10:06] spirit and in truth. I would actually

[10:08] challenge every single one in the

[10:09] audience and if you're watching from

[10:10] around the world, try the Sabbath. God

[10:14] will bless you.

[10:17] >> Uh let me just say in closing, you guys

[10:19] are the nicest people and sweetest

[10:21] people ever. So keep it up. I could tell

[10:22] you honor the Sabbath and so thank you

[10:24] for warmly welcoming me. It's really

[10:26] awesome. Secondly, this church that

[10:27] we're currently in is Dream City Church.

[10:29] We should give it up for them. They're

[10:30] wonderful hosts here.

[10:31] >> They have been amazing behind the scenes

[10:33] on the stage, everything. They are

[10:35] great. If you live here in the Phoenix

[10:36] area, we do a weekly uh monthly event

[10:38] here actually right here at this church.

[10:41] We have Alan Jackson coming up

[10:42] Wednesday. If anything I said interested

[10:43] you, final thing I'll say, if you are

[10:46] honoring the Sabbath, talk about it

[10:47] more. Talk about it favorably and

[10:50] positively. Try to get bring the Shabbat

[10:53] to the world. And I have here that's why

[10:55] I was looking at this actually. It's

[10:57] very important. The last one of the last

[10:59] parts of this is nor thy stranger that

[11:01] is within thy gates. One of my most

[11:04] important beliefs is the Ten

[11:05] Commandments were not just written for

[11:07] Jews or Christians. It was written for

[11:09] all of humanity. And I believe that all

[11:12] of humanity, whether they're in Tokyo or

[11:15] New Delhi or in London, would be blessed

[11:17] if they honored the Sabbath. If you are

[11:20] currently watching this online and

[11:22] you're not honoring the Shabbat and you

[11:24] are feeling depression and exhaustion

[11:25] and fatigue, there is something that

[11:28] costs you nothing.

[11:30] You don't have to take out a loan. All

[11:32] you have to do is commit to God and to

[11:34] stop what you are doing for one day a

[11:36] week. It will change your life. It will

[11:38] grow you closer to divine. And it is,

[11:40] what do we learn? We learn that through

[11:42] faith comes the hard things. That

[11:45] Abraham worked through faith. In the

[11:46] hall of faith of Hebrews, we see here

[11:50] that faith will drive you and it will

[11:53] strengthen your faith. If you say, "Oh,

[11:55] I'm too busy. I need to work that day."

[11:57] I will challenge you that God will bless

[12:00] you immeasurably. It might not be a

[12:01] bigger bank account, but you'll be more

[12:03] at peace. You'll have more rest. And I

[12:05] believe that our country, our nation,

[12:07] our civilization will be enriched the

[12:09] more that we can return one day, the

[12:11] seventh day, back to the Lord. Amen.

[12:13] >> The peace that passes all understanding.

[12:15] Amen to that. Thank you. Thank you,

[12:17] Victor.

[12:17] >> Thanks, man. Nice to meet you.