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Charlie Kirk Has Died - Pray With Me
00:22:32
Charlie Kirk has died. Pastor Jeff does an emergency broadcast to speak about the shooting and death of Charlie Kirk and to pray for his family.
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Hey, everybody. We wanted to come on and share what we know. It's obviously making rounds at this point that our brother in the faith, Charlie Kirk, was shot. The video footage is horrifying. I would highly encourage not even watching it. And we received word from a friend we have with TPUSA that it is in fact true that Charlie has passed to go on to be with the Lord. There are obviously conflicting reports over the last couple of hours about him being stable and, you know, he was still fighting. And we do have somebody inside with TPUSA that did inform us that it is in fact true that Charlie has passed to go on to be with the Lord. Obviously, this is painful and very distressing. We just wanted to come on and ask God's people everywhere to pray, in particular for his wife and for his children, obviously for all of everybody at TP USA and TP USA Faith. We have so many friends there, pray for everybody there. But obviously this is a painful, painful moment for so many people. So I wanted to come on and just say a few words. Next week. It's been planned for months. I was asked by TPOSA Faith to sit in on one of Charlie's prove me wrong things at the University of Alabama. It's supposed to be next Wednesday, and I'm confident that that won't be happening at this point, understandably so for the team with TPUSA faith, completely understandable. Again, that was supposed to be at the University of Alabama, same type of event. And on the issue of the abolition of abortion and something that Charlie has very recently started even using the language of abolition and he's always been strong in opposition to the murder of the preborn and spoken boldly on that. But we do have some deep connections with tpusa and there's so many just solid, solid believers and good people. So again, please pray for them. I just saw Charlie just a couple of months ago. I want to just share this quick story with you real fast. And then I would like to pray and have you pray with me for Charlie's family. So I was with my son and Pastor Luke at a very special retirement ceremony for Captain Brad Geary at the BUDS compound in Coronado. And it was such a special day, such a very special day. And when we were coming back from Bud's, we were going to go to the hotel to grab some things and then go have dinner that night with all these, you know, amazing Navy seals, and my son is with me and, you know, we're going to sit with these Navy SEALs, all legends from the last generation. And we're walking on, along the beach to go back to the hotel to grab some stuff. We noticed over in the. In the sand, this huge event being set up. It was. It was massive on the beach. And then we started seeing all the signs posted up in the sand for turning tpusa. And. And my son is a huge fan of Charlie Kirk. He watches his videos religiously. I mean, he just adores him. He loves him. And so when my son Stellar saw all the signs, he was like, dad, do you think Charlie's going to be here? I said, I don't know. So then we ran into some of my friends from TPUSA there at the event, and they let us know that, yeah, Charlie's going to be here tonight. So my son had the opportunity to go to this, you know, private dinner with all the legend seals from the last generation all the way, like, you know, back to Vietnam era. And my son couldn't wait to do that. But when he saw that Charlie Kirk was going to be there, we get to the dinner, and my son, like, in five minutes, sitting down, he said, can we go back to the hotel so I can shake Charlie's hand? And so I ended up leaving this very, very special event because my son just so admires Charlie Kirk. He loves the fact that he's a believer. He's a strong believer, loves Jesus, preaches. Jesus preaches the gospel and defends so many things boldly. And so we went back, we left this amazing, you know, opportunity to just be a part of something special with these Navy SEALs, just to get back so that my son could just put his hand in Charlie's hand. And so when we got there, Charlie was very busy, but when he saw me and my son, he actually left the event, which was very special because he had the same security that was with him today in Utah, was the same security with him in San Diego. Those guys, highly professional. I mean, very professional. He left the event to come and just meet my son. And so he was surrounded by the entourage of security, and he took time away from his fundraiser to just to come say hi and bless us and shake my son's hand. He's just a really, really. He was a really, really special, special man. What a gift. What a gift to the world. It's horrible. You know, God is so good and so beautiful and so amazing, and the works of his hands are just so incredible. This world has so much beauty, so much goodness, and yet moments like this, I think all of us would be willing to admit when there's the sin, you have to deal with the conflict, the evil betrayal of this world, the death and the murder and the destruction and the hatred. In moments like this, I think it's okay to say that we feel like, okay, God, you're really good, but I just want to get off. I just want to get off. And I think it's important for us in moments like this where you feel like that, I just want to get off. This is just horrific. I mean, just in the last couple of days, the videos that have come across, our feeds of that precious, beautiful woman on the train in Charlotte, senseless murder. Hate. This girl, 23 years old, her whole life taken from her by a stranger for no reason. And all of us had to witness that footage. And then to see the footage of Charlie getting shot. It's just horrific. It's horrific. And you feel like, God, I just want to get off and just be with you where there's no murder and evil and hatred or betrayal. And I know that in moments like this, we can. That's the kind of hope you have as a believer. Even it seems twisted, right? I want to get off. But the kind of hope we have as a believer is to know that this truly is evil. This isn't random. This isn't simply chaos. It's not meaningless. You see and feel the weight of the evil that we've all had to witness the last couple of days. And as a Christian, you get to actually call it evil. You get to be outraged, you get to grieve. But as a Christian, knowing what we know about God and I hope we have in eternal life the goodness of Jesus. We know that as awful as this world is, we can grieve and we have a right to grieve because we know the truth about that's really evil and that ought not to be. But we grieve. Not like the world. We don't grieve like those without hope. And the hope that we have isn't just some kind of wishful thinking about the future and wishful thinking about God. It's a guaranteed assurance it's known to God from all eternity are all of his works that God declares the end from the beginning. And even the mess, even the hatred and the evil and the bloodshed, all of that, it doesn't thwart God's purposes. There is no meaningless evil in this world. And somebody says, but even murder? Even murder. And you look at the goodness of God and his power and you say, yes, there is no purposeless evil. And God is in control and he's sovereign and he's still on his throne and he's still the good God. Because, yes, even in the murder of Jesus, it's something that God foreordained for his glory and for the good of his people. And so I don't have all the answers, not going to pretend to. And in a moment like this, it's not time for the significant answers. It is time for the promises. And so I'm going to just read some scripture here and then I want to. If you would join me in prayer for Charlie's precious family. John, chapter 11 is the famous section where it's the death of Lazarus and the raising of Lazarus. This is what I will always go to in the circumstances we have to endure where there is death and the death of a believer like Charlie. Charlie knew Jesus. Charlie's with Jesus now. But Lazarus died. You know the story in verse 17 of chapter 11, John, it says this. Now, when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him. But Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, lord, if you'd been here, my brother would not have died. Can I say something about that for a moment? That. That, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. I do think that the substance of that statement by Martha to Jesus is what we are all thinking in moments like this. It may come out in a different way, a different. Different form, but it's the same thing. Lord, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died. Lord, if you were present, if you were here, you could have stopped this. So there's sort of a. How do you put this? It's like a respectful accusation being made to Jesus. It's respectful, but it's also kind of an accusation. If you'd have been here, if you'd have been doing your job, if you'd have been the sovereign God that you say that you are, my brother wouldn't have died. How many people feel that with the death of a child, a loved one at the hospital, watching your mom die, watching your dad die, watching a friend die, there's that feeling. This doesn't feel right. This is so wrong. This ought not to be. And that's true. Only if Jesus is who he says he is. Only if this is true can you think those thoughts. This Ought not to be. Death is such an enemy. But she says, if you'd have been here, my brother wouldn't have died. I think there's no way to not see that as a veiled accusation. Respected, respectable accusation. If you'd been here, he wouldn't have died. I just want to have us all pray for Charlie's wife right now and his kids, because that is going to be something that they feel. Where were you, God? Why weren't you present? Why didn't you stop this? Did you not know? Are you so far away that you don't care? Were you absent? Because if you'd been here, this wouldn't have happened. If you were truly sovereign, this wouldn't have happened. And so there's real. There's like this just honest, honest account of the pain of this human experience of a loved one dying. And she's saying, if you'd been here doing your job, if you'd been present, he wouldn't have died. So actually, actually, Jesus, this is kind of your fault. And I am so thankful that God's word is just on us. With moments like this, the pain of the human experience, the cry of the human heart is just like right there on the page. But then the text says, but even now, I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. I don't understand Jesus, because if you were here, he wouldn't have died. But nonetheless, I will trust you. That's what's happening here. That's what's happening here. If you'd have been here, he wouldn't have died. But nonetheless, I know that whatever you ask of God, he'll give to you. And so that's just. Oh, man. How we approach death like this has to be with that kind of honesty, both ways. One, the honesty towards God that says just what you're feeling. Not hiding it, saying it to him, being honest. I feel like this is your fault. Where were you? But then saying, but I know. I know who you are, and I know that nothing is impossible for you. I know. And I know that you're good and I know that you're faithful. I know that your word is true. I know that your promises are true. But then I can't think as just a Christian of a better way to communicate what's most important to the world right now and to Charlie's family. I can't think of better words than what Jesus says next. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection. On the last day, Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? And so there's the question to ask. Do you believe this? Jesus is saying, if you believe in him and you die, you live. If you live and believe in him, you'll never die. Death is a defeated enemy with Jesus. So Charlie is with the Lord. He's alive with Jesus. That's Jesus promise. And so I want to pray for all of our friends and the believers with Turning Point, who work so faithfully to make Christ the center of everything they do. I can tell you right now, I've had so many conversations with people who are working with Turning Point, and that's their heart. They've just always communicated that to me. We want to make Christ known and all this. We want this to be about the gospel. We want God's truth, truth to prevail. That's where their heart is. And so just know there's a lot of grieving brothers and sisters of ours right now at Turning Point, truly great people. And I want to pray for his family. So if you would, let's. Let's pray together, even through the Internet. Let's pray together. Father, in heaven, we come to you trusting in you. Please, Father, hear the cries of your people and their pain. Meet us, Lord, you are the God of. You are the God of all comfort. And we pray that you would comfort your people right now. Especially, Lord. Especially, Lord. And you know your children who trust in you, who spend their lives working for tpusa and tpusa faith and with Charlie. Meet them, Lord, with your strength and peace and comfort. Right now, Father, we ask that in Jesus name and Lord, especially right now, especially we ask of you, God, as your children, as your people who know you. We ask you to hear us. We cry out to you, Lord, about Charlie's wife and his family. God, please meet. Please meet them, Lord, with your presence and your comfort now, Lord, give them eyes to not look at what is seen, but what is unseen. And give them the strength and the ability to trust your word and your promises. What you've said about yourself, what you've said about this world, what you say about our future in you, God, meet his family with your grace and strength. Lift up their heads to see you and to trust you. And in the moments of deep, deep, incomprehensible pain, let their eyes be fixed on you. We pray, God, for all who are hurting in this we do ask, Lord, that you would allow your truth to prevail over all of this evil. We do pray, God, that you would move by your spirit mightily, mightily around the world. But in particular, in all the places that Charlie was working. We pray that your spirit would move mightily, Lord, we do pray that this tragic and evil situation would be used by you for your glory and for your kingdom. That your people would rise up with your truth and proclaim your gospel more boldly in the midst of evil like this. We do pray, God, that Lord Jesus, you would save. Draw people to yourself, save. And Lord, we do pray for justice. Your promises, God, assure us that the knowledge of God will cover the earth like the waters cover the sea. That you will establish justice in the earth. And so we pray that through these horrible circumstances, God, your victory will be seen. That you will be glorified. God, Lord, empower your church to be used of you mightily in the midst of tragedies and evil like this. Give us more boldness to proclaim your gospel. We ask this in Jesus mighty name. Amen. Thank you, guys.