Ally (10:52)
I know. If I could have texted Charlie this morning and asked him, hey, Charlie, I've got this really tough subject to talk about today. What do you think about it? Is there anything I need to make sure that I say I know exactly what he'd tell me. He would just have said Jesus. That's it. Just point them to Jesus. That was his heart. That was his passion, the drive behind everything he did. It shaped the way he adored his wife, cherished his kids, led his organization, spoke to crowds. It shaped the way he treated his friends. If you look through acts, you'll see all kinds of people sharing texts that they'd received from Charlie. Always words of encouragement. Our text thread over the years is filled with the same kind of thing. Short but really meaningful exchanges. And a couple years ago, the Atlantic wrote a profile about me. Actually, was just last year. And it had some positive descriptions, but it also took some jabs. And as you can imagine, the reception from the Atlantic's audience was not kind. And what should have felt like this big accomplishment for me actually made me very anxious at the time. But then I got this text from Charlie with a link to the article, and he just said, huge honor. Well done. Keep slugging. And when I got the news yesterday that Charlie had been shot, I, like everyone else, was in shock. And my first thought was, that's it. Like, I'm done. We're all done. We, on the right thought that we were in this battle of ideas, and we're not. We were wrong. We're bringing words, they're bringing weapons, and it's too scary. And I talked to my dad, and he told me, ally, you know, after all of this clears, you need to ask yourself, what do you think Charlie would tell you to do? And the truth is, I know exactly what he would say to me and what he'd say to all of us. Keep slugging, keep going, he'd say. Don't stop. Don't slow down, don't back down, even for a second. Our last exchange was him giving me advice for an opportunity. I have one that after this news from yesterday, I wanted to cancel. But I know what he'd want me to do. There's so much ugliness online right now, people cheering on Charlie's murder, and I'm not going to highlight those people. Instead, I'll just remind you of this, that Charlie would not care one bit about what those people think. He was extremely aware of the existence of evil and of spiritual warfare. Demons are rejoicing right now. Satan is glad that he took an effective soldier out of the fight. And everyone who follows Satan feels the same way. What an incredible honor. May we all, when we die, make the demons rejoice. May we all be so courageous, so bold, so effective, so fair, faithful, so obedient to the Lord, so relentless in the pursuit of his glory, that when we die, all of God's enemies cheer. May they lament every breath we take. May they be enraged by every morning that our feet hit the floor. May they wince at every word we say. We don't wrestle against flesh and blood, my friends. Ephesians 6, 10, 20 reminds us of finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, against. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand firm, stand. Therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and his shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace in all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. Charlie could have been anything. With enough time, he would have been president. There's no doubt in my mind about that. That is, in part why they killed him. He's largely responsible for Trump winning and preserving what's left of Western civilization. Every day he was adding droves of people to the side of goodness and truth, but ultimately they killed him. Not because he's presidential or because he's persuasive, but because they hate God. Now, I won't spend a bunch of time talking about the evils of progressivism. Right now, there are people on the left who have condemned this violence. But to those people and to everyone else, I just want to say, wake up. Wake up. Whether it's the school shooting in Nashville or the one in Minnesota, whether it is Trump's assassination attempt or the assassination of Charlie Kirk, understand what we have been telling you for decades. Leftism as an ideology is inherently, inherently anti God and violent. I know that some of you out there think it's actually about welcoming the migrant and helping the poor. And I commend you for your compassion, which I believe is real. But I want you to know you're being deceived, that you're on the wrong side, that this is not a both sides problem. This is a one side problem. And it goes down to the very foundations of the progressive worldview. Now, if you want to learn more about what I just said, start listening to Charlie. Listen to his podcast, read his books, watch his exchanges. I am already seeing God do what he does. Thwart Satan's plans, bring beauty out of ashes. He is using this moment to unite people and bring them to the truth. If the enemy's goal was to scare us into silence, he has failed tremendously. This is what happens when you make a martyr. You embolden everyone who believes like they do Charlie. And the truth he represented will spread further and wider than they ever have before. To the people who did this, to the people who support this, you have changed the country forever. And if you are scared of Donald Trump, if you are worried about Charlie Kirk, you will be very disappointed when you learn that they were the nice version of what you claim to hate. If your goal was to immortalize Charlie's ideas and to raise people up even bolder and more relentless than him, good job. That's exactly what you've done. Do not forget it, my friends. Charlie Kirk was murdered for believing the same things you do. He was not a radical in any way. He was not hateful. He was not a flamethrower. He believed in and leveraged the free exchange of ideas to try to persuade people of biblical truth. That is it. There's a quote that says that the further a society drifts from the truth, the more they hate the people who say it. That is true of us today. And in John 15:18, Jesus says this. If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. And I just want to say this because this is what Charlie would say. If you don't know Jesus, please get to know him. He is the only way to the satisfaction and the love that you're longing for. Pick up a Bible. Start in the Book of John. Go to church this weekend, maybe for the first time, maybe for the first time in years. Pray, even if you don't know how. Cry out to God. Ask him to help you. That's what Charlie would say to you if you were here right now. Charlie, right now is with his greatest love, Jesus. He is with the fellow saints and martyrs and the persecuted by which the church has been advanced for millennia. And I am so happy for him. I'm so happy for him. But I am so sad for us. Heaven gained an incredible person, and we have lost a huge presence here on earth. A young wife has lost her husband, her person, her confidant, her protector. Two babies have lost their father, and thousands of us have lost a dear, dear friend. To those of you who loved Charlie, please pray for his family. Pray for all of us. Pray for protection. Pray for wisdom. Pray for courage. We'll miss you, Charlie. But I'll see you again one day. And thank you for everything. Thank you.