Responding with Love After Charlie Kirk's Tragic Death: A Call to Forgiveness and Continued Faith

[00:00] Hey everyone. I'm making this video in

[00:02] regards to what has taken place with

[00:05] Charlie Kirk at a college campus in

[00:07] Utah. If you're unaware of what has

[00:10] taken place, Charlie was shot. He was

[00:13] assassinated while he was doing one of

[00:15] his events at a college in Utah with

[00:18] tons of students there, tons of people

[00:20] gathered around. Very evil, very wicked,

[00:23] and even a very sad thing that has taken

[00:26] place.

[00:28] Charlie was an amazing man. He was a man

[00:31] of God, a child of God. And I believe

[00:34] with all my heart that Charlie was 100%

[00:37] doing the Father's will, that he was

[00:40] loving God, and that he was following

[00:42] Jesus in what God had him doing. I had a

[00:46] high respect have a high respect for

[00:48] Charlie. I can't say had because of his

[00:51] life on earth, but I can also say have

[00:53] because we know that Charlie is alive

[00:55] and well in heaven with the Lord even at

[00:58] this moment. As I was praying yesterday

[01:01] and grieving over the matter, uh I felt

[01:04] like I saw uh a quick vision, maybe it

[01:07] was just a thought, my imagination, uh

[01:09] but of Charlie being with the Lord with

[01:11] a smile on his face. We'll get to a

[01:14] little bit more of that here in a little

[01:16] bit. But Charlie was a great man and

[01:18] there were a lot of people that the Lord

[01:20] influenced through his life and used him

[01:22] in such an amazing way. And my prayers

[01:25] go out to his family, his wife Erica,

[01:27] their kids, and everyone else who's

[01:28] involved, those who are a part of his

[01:31] team, Lucas, Miles, Asa, Matt Haye,

[01:35] different people who are there and

[01:36] involved working with Charlie Kirk. Uh

[01:41] my prayers go out to you guys. I love

[01:42] you all and I pray that the comforter is

[01:45] comforting you even now and continuing

[01:49] to strengthen you and help you to

[01:50] fulfill uh the mission that God has

[01:53] joined you all together for. Now on

[01:56] September 10th, we were actually

[01:58] partnering with a TPUSA chapter at

[02:00] Southern Illinois University Carbondale

[02:03] when we found out what had happened to

[02:05] Charlie. We had set up everything. We

[02:08] had already preached the gospel and we

[02:10] opened up for Q&A. Had a big long line

[02:13] of students and had several great

[02:14] questions already when someone came over

[02:17] and tapped me on the shoulder, someone

[02:19] from my team and let me know that TPUSA

[02:22] wanted to shut down the event

[02:24] immediately and informed me that Charlie

[02:27] Kirk had been shot and they didn't know

[02:30] in what condition that he was. So, we

[02:33] quickly shut down the event. president

[02:36] of the TPS USA chapter wanted to remove

[02:38] me from campus for safety precaution.

[02:41] And we went and got in our car with a

[02:44] few of their team members and we hit the

[02:47] road to try to go to a more safe

[02:50] location off campus. And as we were

[02:53] driving, we were hearing a few updates

[02:55] of what was going on with Charlie. Alls

[02:58] we could do really was pray to pray for

[03:00] him. We didn't know how bad it was. So,

[03:03] we just continued to pray as we were

[03:06] driving in the car and finally ended up

[03:09] turning around, coming back, got some

[03:11] details worked out for us and what we

[03:13] were going to do moving forward. Uh, we

[03:15] had two other events that we were going

[03:17] to do on the campus. When we found out

[03:19] that Charlie had passed, that Charlie

[03:23] didn't make it.

[03:25] He's passed. Yes. Is this what I'm

[03:27] hearing? Yes.

[03:29] Yes. Yes. Yes.

[03:31] Right here. right here at this moment.

[03:33] Guys, let's go around the board. You

[03:35] know, you continue on the horrendous

[03:39] news that Charlie has passed.

[03:41] My prayers are for your

[03:45] Yeah. I mean, I don't Yeah, I don't have

[03:47] anything to say.

[03:50] So, we went ahead and cancelled the rest

[03:52] of our events and uh to be honest with

[03:55] you,

[03:57] it was really rough. It was really

[03:59] tough. I know many of you out there,

[04:01] especially those who who know Charlie,

[04:04] maybe many of you, you were influenced

[04:05] by Charlie. You've watched him on social

[04:07] media for years. Uh God has impacted

[04:10] your life. Many of you, you may have

[04:11] gotten saved from hearing Charlie Kirk

[04:13] talk about the Lord and talk about the

[04:15] good news of Jesus Christ. Uh there were

[04:18] thousands, millions, literally millions

[04:20] of people who have been influenced and

[04:22] impacted by what God was doing in and

[04:25] through Charlie Kirk's life, not to even

[04:27] mention his family. So, it's been really

[04:31] sad. It's been really difficult. I can't

[04:34] say I understand it fully. I don't think

[04:36] any of us can say uh we understand it

[04:39] fully. But we do know a few things

[04:42] scripturally

[04:44] that can help us make it through tough

[04:46] times like this. Help us to grieve in a

[04:50] healthy manner and not let the enemy get

[04:52] involved and get a foothold in what has

[04:55] taken place here today. Because there's

[04:57] an enemy in the world. Many of us are

[04:59] aware of that. And some of the

[05:02] temptations

[05:03] right off the bat are hatred,

[05:07] bitterness,

[05:09] resentment, unforgiveness,

[05:12] acting out in wrath, letting the anger

[05:16] kind of boil up inside and causing us to

[05:18] sin or causing us to even say things

[05:22] that we shouldn't say. say things that

[05:25] are not Christlike and saying things

[05:27] that really the devil would say, we

[05:30] really have to lean into God. We really

[05:32] have to fix our mind upon him. We really

[05:34] have to fix our eyes on Jesus and even

[05:37] his life. And Jesus as he was being

[05:42] tortured, made fun of, mocked, and

[05:45] murdered hung on a cross even with the

[05:48] people who were continuing to mock him

[05:51] and make fun of him and shame him. As he

[05:54] was hanging there suffering terribly,

[05:57] marred beyond recognition, Jesus prayed

[06:00] for them and said, "Father, forgive them

[06:04] for they know not what they do."

[06:05] Literally, the people who had just

[06:07] tortured him and were murdering him and

[06:09] continuing to mock him. Jesus prayed in

[06:12] the moment, "Father, forgive them for

[06:14] they know not what they do." He was full

[06:16] of mercy. He was full of compassion. We

[06:19] can say, "Well, that was Jesus. I'm not

[06:20] like Jesus." or you know Jesus could do

[06:24] that but I can't do that. But that's not

[06:27] true because we have the Holy Spirit and

[06:30] the Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as

[06:32] the helper and the Holy Spirit can help

[06:34] us even to the extent that we see the

[06:36] example scripturally of a man named

[06:39] Steven. Now, Steven was in the

[06:41] scriptures in the New Testament. And as

[06:42] he was speaking the truth, even like

[06:44] Charlie was a man of truth, Steven was

[06:46] speaking the truth. And many of the

[06:49] religious hypocrites swarmed him with

[06:51] angry faces and literally stoned him to

[06:53] death. As they were stoning Steven to

[06:56] death, he looked up into heaven. He saw

[06:59] son of man standing at the right hand of

[07:01] the father. And he prayed, "Lord, don't

[07:04] hold this charge against them." because

[07:07] they didn't know what they were doing.

[07:09] So, we see it reciprocated even in

[07:13] Steven's life. And we really have to

[07:15] lean into God. I know that can seem

[07:17] difficult. I know that can seem hard.

[07:20] But with God, all things are possible.

[07:22] And the Holy Spirit can help you in a

[07:25] supernatural way. It's not about your

[07:26] strength. It's not about your mental

[07:28] ability. It's not about you. It's about

[07:32] him. And it's about his ability. It's

[07:35] about his power. It's about the Holy

[07:37] Spirit being able to help you, even

[07:39] producing the fruits of the spirit in

[07:41] you that go beyond our understanding,

[07:43] that go beyond the natural

[07:44] circumstances, that go beyond our

[07:46] feelings, that goes beyond our emotions.

[07:49] And we can forgive even now. They were

[07:52] forgiving before the act had been

[07:55] carried out to its completion, before

[07:58] they took their last breath. They were

[08:00] forgiving even in the moment of the

[08:02] pain, in the moment of suffering, in the

[08:06] moment of not understanding fully.

[08:09] The Lord's grace was sufficient for them

[08:12] to forgive even in the midst of what was

[08:15] taking place. And his grace is

[08:17] sufficient for you. I can sense the Holy

[08:19] Spirit right now. His mercy is more than

[08:22] enough for you to help each and every

[08:24] one of us as believers, as brothers or

[08:28] sisters, even of Charlie Kirk and of the

[08:30] Lord, to help us not to respond giving

[08:34] evil for evil, insult for insult. But

[08:37] Jesus said, "Love your enemies. Pray for

[08:40] those who reproach you. Bless those who

[08:42] curse you. Give to those who steal from

[08:44] you. Do good to those who hate you." And

[08:47] he lived it out as an example before us.

[08:49] So, I want to encourage you, pray and

[08:52] ask God for help. If you're struggling

[08:54] with bitterness and hatred and

[08:56] unforgiveness and your heart is being

[08:59] hardened towards the people in the

[09:01] world, pray and ask God to help you to

[09:04] forgive. Here's a Bible verse for you.

[09:07] The Bible says, "And forgiving one

[09:08] another. If anyone has a complaint

[09:11] against anyone, even as Christ forgave

[09:14] you, so you also must do." That's a very

[09:17] empowering verse. That means just as

[09:20] Christ forgave you and forgave me for

[09:23] everything wrong that we had ever done.

[09:26] Even as he forgave us, so you also must

[09:29] do. Meaning it's possible. It's not too

[09:32] hard. It's not impossible. But with

[09:34] God's help, you can forgive in the same

[09:36] way that God has forgiven you. I can

[09:39] forgive in the same way that God has

[09:41] forgiven me. The question arises not

[09:44] only how do we respond but how do we

[09:47] move forward from here? Because there

[09:50] are many temptations of the enemy. It's

[09:52] not a coincidence that the enemy had

[09:55] someone shoot Charlie in front of crowds

[09:58] of people where there would be cameras

[10:00] recording for all of the world to see.

[10:03] You see, the enemy, he has a plot to try

[10:05] to strike fear, to try to bring up that

[10:08] resentment and bitterness and

[10:10] unforgiveness, but to cause people to be

[10:13] afraid and not to continue to follow

[10:16] Jesus, not to continue to speak the

[10:18] truth, not continue to love people

[10:20] enough to speak the truth to them so

[10:23] that they can be free and set free from

[10:25] the enemy and the snares of the devil.

[10:28] The Bible says that the devil has taken

[10:29] many people captive to do his will. So

[10:32] many people are doing his will captive.

[10:35] Charlie Kirk was a person who was

[10:36] speaking the truth and the truth can

[10:39] bring freedom to those captives so they

[10:41] can come out from the hand of the enemy

[10:44] so they can come to the Lord, be washed,

[10:46] cleansed, forgiveness, forgiven, making

[10:48] a new person and then filled with the

[10:50] Holy Spirit and then continuing to love

[10:52] God and love other people. Listen, the

[10:55] solution is love. The solution is we

[10:58] move forward with no fear. we move

[11:00] forward and we continue to speak the

[11:02] gospel. We continue to speak the truth

[11:04] because that's the ultimate victory.

[11:06] That's the ultimate win. If we respond

[11:09] with hatred and bitterness, guess who

[11:11] wins? The devil wins because he already

[11:14] had someone commit an act of hatred

[11:16] towards Charlie. Now, if we respond in

[11:19] the same way, the devil has now gotten

[11:22] two acts of hatred to be done. But if he

[11:27] committed an act of hatred, we commit an

[11:30] act of love. Love actually overcomes

[11:34] evil. The Bible says love covers a

[11:36] multitude of sins. But it says don't

[11:38] return evil for evil, but rather

[11:40] overcome evil with good. So we can

[11:43] actually overcome evil with good. And

[11:45] that's how evil is overcome when

[11:47] something good is done in response. When

[11:51] something loving is given to our

[11:53] enemies. When you give your enemy who's

[11:55] thirsty or hungry something to eat or

[11:57] something to drink, it's releasing them

[12:00] from you trying to get revenge or

[12:02] avenging and actually releasing them

[12:04] into God's hand because he is the

[12:06] avenger of our souls. He is the one

[12:08] who's going to get revenge. We pray for

[12:10] our enemies that they would repent and

[12:11] put their faith in Jesus if they do not.

[12:14] God is a just God and he will repay them

[12:16] according to their works. I heard

[12:18] someone say recently, "God can hit

[12:21] someone way harder than you could ever

[12:23] hit them." So if someone deserves

[12:26] retribution, if someone deserves justice

[12:29] taking place on their evil works or

[12:32] something hateful that they've done,

[12:35] leave it to God to bring the punishment.

[12:38] Leave it to God to bring his wrath on

[12:40] those people. We pray for them. We love

[12:42] them. We pray that they would repent and

[12:44] be forgiven just like God was merciful

[12:46] towards us. But if they don't, we know

[12:48] that God is a just God and his judgment

[12:50] is going to come down on those people.

[12:53] There's a place in Revelation where

[12:54] angels and people in heaven are

[12:56] rejoicing because God is just. He's a

[12:58] righteous judge and his wrath is coming

[13:00] down upon all the evil people who are at

[13:03] work in the world. I want to read this

[13:06] Bible verse to you. This comes from John

[13:08] 21:15.

[13:10] So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus

[13:12] said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of

[13:15] Jonah, do you love me more than these?"

[13:17] He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know

[13:19] that I love you." He said to him, "Feed

[13:21] my lambs." He said to him again a second

[13:24] time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love

[13:27] me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you

[13:29] know that I love you?" He said to him,

[13:31] "Tend my sheep." He said to him the

[13:33] third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you

[13:35] love me?" Peter was grieved because he

[13:38] said to him a third time, "Do you love

[13:40] me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know

[13:42] all things. You know that I love you."

[13:45] Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Most

[13:47] assuredly I say to you, when you were

[13:50] younger, you girded yourself and walked

[13:51] where you wished. But when you are old,

[13:54] you will stretch out your hands, and

[13:55] another will gird you and carry you

[13:57] where you do not wish." Now listen to

[13:59] this part. This he spoke, signifying by

[14:02] what death he would glorify God. And

[14:04] when he had spoken this, he said to him,

[14:07] "Follow me."

[14:09] Now, I want to relate this a little bit

[14:11] to Charlie. Charlie was definitely a man

[14:15] who loved Jesus Christ. And I believe

[14:17] that Charlie was doing God's will, even

[14:20] as Jesus was telling Simon Peter what to

[14:23] do in his command, in why he had created

[14:26] him, the purpose he had created him. And

[14:28] it was all for the sake of Simon Peter

[14:31] loving the Lord. Charlie was a man who

[14:33] loved the Lord, was following the Lord,

[14:35] was doing the Lord's will. But it says

[14:38] Jesus spoke, signifying by what death

[14:41] Simon Peter would glorify God. Charlie

[14:45] Kirk did not die in vain. But through

[14:48] Charlie's death, because he was serving

[14:50] Jesus, because he was loving Jesus,

[14:53] because he was loving those people in

[14:54] front of him, God is glorified even in

[14:58] this. That may be hard to understand to

[15:00] you how God would be glorified. But

[15:02] Jesus said it. It's his own words right

[15:04] here through Simon Peter. The way that

[15:06] he was going to die, God was going to be

[15:08] glorified through it. You see, it's a

[15:11] very victorious thing for someone to

[15:14] finish their race. Jesus finished his

[15:17] race when he was about 33 to 33 and a

[15:20] half years old. Some people finish their

[15:22] race later on in life, but some people

[15:25] may finish their race earlier on in

[15:27] life. And I believe that Charlie Kirk

[15:30] ran his race in a brilliant, amazing way

[15:34] that glorified God. And even through

[15:37] Charlie's passing and even through him

[15:39] being a martyr for Jesus Christ, God is

[15:43] being glorified in and through it. God,

[15:47] we give you the praise right now for

[15:49] what you have done. We're so grateful

[15:51] and thankful for what you did through

[15:53] Charlie's life. God, even though the

[15:56] enemy meant this for evil,

[15:58] even though there was an act of hatred

[16:00] and an act of wickedness, God, I thank

[16:03] you. You're able to work all things

[16:04] together for good, beyond our

[16:06] understanding. What the enemy meant for

[16:08] evil, God, I thank you that you're

[16:10] working it for good. However you're

[16:12] going to do that, I don't know. It's

[16:14] beyond my understanding. But God, you

[16:16] know, you alone are wise. And I thank

[16:18] you for how you're bringing good in and

[16:21] through even what has taken place. That

[16:24] it's going to backfire on the enemy a

[16:27] hundfold. That the church is arising.

[16:29] The body of Christ is waking up. And

[16:31] Lord, that we're following in your

[16:33] footsteps. And I thank you that Charlie

[16:34] Kirk's life, his obedience to you, his

[16:37] love for you was even an example for us

[16:41] to not cower in fear, to not move

[16:45] forward in fear, but to move forward

[16:48] continuing to speak the truth, to move

[16:50] forward continuing to follow you. Even

[16:52] as you said to Simon Peter after you

[16:54] said by what death he would glorify you,

[16:56] you saidf follow me. All because he

[16:59] loved you. Lord, I thank you for Charlie

[17:01] Kirk's love for you. that he was a man

[17:03] who followed you. And Lord, I thank you

[17:06] that you're being glorified even in the

[17:08] midst of something the enemy meant for

[17:11] evil. And Father, I pray for each and

[17:13] every person who's going to watch this

[17:15] video. Each and every person that was

[17:17] even impacted by what you did in and

[17:19] through Charlie Kirk's life. Lord, I

[17:21] pray that you would bring comfort to

[17:23] them, even to his family, even to those

[17:26] who were closest to him, his friends.

[17:28] God, I pray that you would bring

[17:29] comfort, supernatural comfort that goes

[17:32] beyond understanding. God, I pray that

[17:33] we would grieve in a healthy way. That

[17:35] it wouldn't be a worldly kind of grief,

[17:37] but we would know that even in a short

[17:39] time, we're going to be joined together.

[17:41] That they would know even in a short

[17:43] time, they're going to be joined

[17:44] together with Charlie Kirk in your

[17:48] presence, Lord. And who knows, Jesus,

[17:50] even if you return in the next two or

[17:52] three years, we may be all reconciled

[17:54] together, even way sooner than we think.

[17:58] God, I pray that you would strengthen

[17:59] people even in these moments, even in

[18:02] these times.

[18:04] God, that you would give people the

[18:05] words to speak. And Lord, I thank you

[18:08] again for all the good that you can

[18:10] bring out of this, all the good that

[18:12] you're going to work out of this

[18:15] in Jesus mighty name. Amen. God bless

[18:18] you all. I love you. Even in the midst

[18:22] of difficult times, lean into God more

[18:25] than you ever have before and rely upon

[18:27] him even to carry you through certain

[18:30] trials, certain seasons.

[18:33] And he's faithful to be there to uphold

[18:35] us and to help us to get through even

[18:38] times like this. God bless you and I'll

[18:40] see you soon.