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Light vs. Darkness: Thinking Biblically Through Our Recent National Tragedy
29 Plays26 days ago
In light of the recent tragic death of Christian and conservative icon, Charlie Kirk, many are asking questions about suffering, faith, and hope. In today's episode, we look to the Scripture for hope and wisdom, and to get a bird's eye view of the real war between darkness and light.
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Transcript
Shock of Charlie Kirk's Assassination
00:00:23
brandon g b
Unless you're living under a rock or in a cave, you're probably well aware that an American lost his life ah recently.
00:00:34
brandon g b
A great American, a godly individual, founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, of course, in an absolute absolutely horrifying ah political
Biblical Perspective on Tragedy
00:00:45
brandon g b
assassination.
00:00:45
brandon g b
And, you know, it's causing a lot of
00:00:48
Christian McKenzie
you
00:00:49
brandon g b
people and especially Christians to think through these things, to think through the war between darkness and light and how we should understand this from a biblical perspective. So Chris and I just wanted to hop on here and record an episode for our listeners of the Faith 168 podcast to help us all just think through this.
00:01:10
brandon g b
And, you know, in any circumstance, we should always look at it through the lens of Scripture.
00:01:19
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
Charlie Kirk's Personal Life and Influence
00:01:20
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm.
00:01:20
brandon g b
God's truth. And we're going to do our best in this episode but on some to put on the Bible as our eyeglasses and try to look at this tragedy through God's point of view. So anyway, obviously that happened um Wednesday, and ah it was a terrible tragedy. Charlie Kirk was my age, little older than me.
00:01:41
brandon g b
I think I saw where he was born in 93. I come along in 94. But, um you know, it was a great father and leaves behind. ah precious wife and children, and that's one of the added tragedies of it.
00:01:54
brandon g b
So let's dig in the Word of God and see what the Scripture has to say about this event.
00:01:54
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:02:01
brandon g b
So so Chris, don't you just start us off? Let's look at this from a bird's eye view. Let's zoom out as much as we possibly can. What's really going on here with this and with a lot of the violence that we see perpetrated um against Christians and innocent people?
Martyrdom and Religious Beliefs
00:02:20
Christian McKenzie
yeah well I think first i would I would look at this event and say ah that we can go beyond just a political assassination, but a martyr.
00:02:31
Christian McKenzie
Because I believe 100% that Charlie Kirk was murdered not because of his political views, but because of his faith. Because ah Everything he spoke about was centered on his faith.
00:02:47
Christian McKenzie
And certainly we're in this time now where politics and faith are are intertwining, ah not not because people are putting faith in politics and and saying, you know, there's these two separate things that need to stay separate and and we're trying to smash them together.
00:03:04
Christian McKenzie
But politics is is really starting to push on to the the faith and to try to determine and decide what morality is, what truth is.
00:03:12
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:03:17
Christian McKenzie
And when politics pushes on that, it's it's very dangerous. And so what Charlie Kirk did was he presented his faith wherever he went. If you look at the post and the speeches he gives, it's always centered around Jesus.
Spiritual Warfare Between Light and Darkness
00:03:31
Christian McKenzie
He actually put out there ah before, to actually just a couple days ago, he made a post saying in this order, God, family, country.
00:03:42
Christian McKenzie
And that shows you his heart that first his faith takes priority.
00:03:44
brandon g b
Right.
00:03:47
Christian McKenzie
And in his faith, he makes his family his next priority. And then politics and everything like that is is at the end of that list.
00:03:59
Christian McKenzie
And he constantly reminded people that his faith always came first. And so we see this one instance when we just look at Charlie Kirk, but then we kind of back up a little bit and realize there's a lot of this going around.
00:04:14
Christian McKenzie
There's a lot of darkness here in this world that when we turn on the news, it can seem downright depressing. And I've seen a lot of people that are just hopeless. In fact, someone was just messaging me last night over this. And and this person was talking to me and and expressing in their fear and their their depression over the fact that they feel like now they can't even leave the house. They're afraid to stand up for their faith.
00:04:46
Christian McKenzie
And so what I think we're seeing here is a war. And I'm not talking about a physical war. I'm not talking about guns, no matter how many times we do see these weapons like knives and guns brought into this war I'm talking about.
00:05:02
Christian McKenzie
But it's a spiritual warfare, ah spiritual warfare between the light and the dark. And the the darkness cannot stand the light. Therefore, it tries to extinguish it with everything that it has.
00:05:16
Christian McKenzie
And so people like Charlie Kirk and people... that look a certain way or or act a certain way or believe a certain way. these These people are starting to be positioned as this idea of light versus dark.
00:05:31
Christian McKenzie
And we see the darkness does not like that the light is starting to make headway and and and make splashes and in the water.
00:05:38
brandon g b
Right.
00:05:42
Christian McKenzie
And The darkness is going to lash out any time the light is seen.
Cultural Tensions and Traditional Values
00:05:48
Christian McKenzie
And I think that we've seen just in the last year or so this tremendous shift in the world, especially in our nation, in the United States, as it looked like we were going down this really, really dark path.
00:06:07
Christian McKenzie
of following these demonic doctrines and these evil ideologies. And now people, especially young people, of which Charlie Kirk was a really big influencer amongst young people, we see these young people starting to wake up and say, ah you know, simple things like this.
00:06:19
brandon g b
Right, right.
00:06:29
Christian McKenzie
i think God created me to be who I am, not not the opposite gender. I think... God wants me to to love people unconditionally and and walk in his truth. I think God wants me to deny my evil desires and not walk in the darkness anymore, but walk in his light. And as people start to do that, the darkness hates that.
00:06:54
Christian McKenzie
ah The devil, the the ah the demons, they they hate when people see the light and are redeemed by the light. And i so I think what we're seeing here is we back out and take a bird's eye view um that we see this war, the spiritual war of light versus dark.
00:07:13
Christian McKenzie
And the darkness
Satan's Strategies Against the Gospel
00:07:14
Christian McKenzie
is not happy right now. And i don't think the darkness is ever happy, but definitely more so now as these things have been shifting.
00:07:18
brandon g b
Yeah, yeah.
00:07:26
brandon g b
Yeah, you're 100% correct. I think this is really the let's back out and see this as clearly as we can when the smoke clears. It is a spiritual war, you know.
00:07:37
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:07:38
brandon g b
um The person that assassinated Charlie Kirk may not have even consciously targeted him for his spiritual beliefs. Maybe it was his political beliefs. Probably was.
00:07:50
brandon g b
But the thing is, political or more, as you were saying, um mean let me preface this a little bit. It's not that religion has become more political.
00:08:03
brandon g b
Politics have become more religious.
00:08:05
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:08:06
brandon g b
Our politics are getting into moral issues.
00:08:06
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm.
00:08:09
brandon g b
They have been for a long time, like with abortion, transgenderism, and what have you.
00:08:11
Christian McKenzie
Right.
00:08:14
brandon g b
And so there's going to be ah an inevitable blending when you try to push back against that.
00:08:20
Christian McKenzie
Right.
00:08:20
brandon g b
And so what Charlie Kirk and so many like him are actually pushing against is moral darkness. And so whatever the motivations of this a coward shooter, he still was used as a pawn in the devil's hand to try, as the devil's been trying for a long time, to extinguish the light.
00:08:37
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:08:42
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm.
00:08:42
brandon g b
Because, see, here's thing about Satan. like He is very intelligent. he's He's smarter than we give him credit for. you know
00:08:52
Christian McKenzie
Smarter than us as individuals.
00:08:53
brandon g b
He is smarter yet's smarter than us and and even knows the scripture according to you know Luke 4 and the records of Jesus' temptation. There at the end, ah he's like, well, it is written, if you throw yourself down from the pinnacle, God will protect you.
00:09:08
brandon g b
you know So Satan...
00:09:09
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:09:10
brandon g b
so satan He's very cunning. He's very subtle. And this is one of his strategies to try to extinguish light. Because what I was going to say is as intelligent as he is, ah believe he's also angry.
00:09:25
brandon g b
And he knows that the light of the gospel and the word of God proclaimed in the public platform like Charlie did is people's only hope of salvation.
00:09:36
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:09:36
brandon g b
If they listen to people like Charlie and repent and believe, The devil has gained another enemy and lost another friend. And he's going to do everything he can to stop
Spiritual Conflict Beyond Politics
00:09:48
brandon g b
that.
00:09:48
brandon g b
um You know, Revelation says he knows his time is short and he's trying to seize power as much as he can. So. But what are some biblical passages about this, um about the.
00:10:03
brandon g b
these different realms, the darkness and the light. you know We could look at a lot of them, John 3, for instance, <unk>esians five Ephesians 5, Ephesians 6. We might begin to look at John 3 to gain some biblical perspective on this.
00:10:17
brandon g b
um Are you open to that passage?
00:10:20
Christian McKenzie
Yeah. Yeah. Verse 19 to 21. Yeah.
00:10:23
brandon g b
Yeah, read that for us, if you will.
00:10:23
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:10:26
Christian McKenzie
And this is Jesus speaking and he says, and this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil and For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
00:10:44
Christian McKenzie
But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done in God.
00:10:53
brandon g b
So notice, Jesus does not say the darkness tolerates the light.
00:11:02
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm.
00:11:02
brandon g b
Those in the dark have conversations and friendly disagreements with those in the light. Those in the darkness hate the light.
00:11:13
Christian McKenzie
Yes. and And that word hate is is very important because the understanding of hatred, sometimes we throw that word around to where it loses its meaning.
00:11:25
Christian McKenzie
I hate this. I hate that. And it seems like a simple dislike. But hatred is that you want it to die, that that you want it to be snuffed at. When you hate something, when you truly hate something, if I were to say to you, Brandon, I hate you.
00:11:43
Christian McKenzie
and I meant it, it'd mean I would want you not to exist anymore.
00:11:47
brandon g b
Right, right.
00:11:49
brandon g b
That's mean, man.
00:11:51
Christian McKenzie
Yeah, know. I don't hate you.
00:11:52
brandon g b
ah
00:11:53
Christian McKenzie
I strongly dislike you. No, I know. I love you, brother. Yeah.
00:11:58
brandon g b
Good to know.
00:11:59
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:12:00
brandon g b
No, you're right. um that That's a strong word there. And, you know, what Jesus is getting at is there's a never-ending conflict between not just the realms of darkness and light as though they're you know way out there in the galaxy or something.
00:12:19
brandon g b
But those that belong to either camp, there's a conflict.
00:12:22
Christian McKenzie
who Yeah.
00:12:24
brandon g b
And again, also notice, he does not say in that passage, those who are in the light hate those who are in the darkness. It's the other way around. ah We want to reach them. We want them to be delivered from the domain of darkness, like Colossians talks about, and be delivered into the kingdom of God's beloved son.
00:12:43
brandon g b
But those that are under the devil's sway those that are ruled by him who are unbelievers they're marked by hatred sadly and and many of us were there before we knew christ you know not just to point fingers but um even titus i think says that ah we passed our days consumed with hatred that is a mark somebody that doesn't know christ because when you do know him he changes your heart and allows you enables you
00:12:57
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:13:06
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:13:08
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:13:14
brandon g b
to love God and love your neighbor, to fulfill the two pillar commands.
00:13:17
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm.
00:13:19
brandon g b
But if you're in the darkness, you're subject to the opposite. You hate God and you hate people made in his image, and you really hate those that look like his son.
00:13:31
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:13:31
brandon g b
And see, that's that's the thing with like the whole culture of death and persecution of Christians from the devil, I think, is number one, Satan and his demons hate human beings.
00:13:44
brandon g b
because they look like God.
00:13:44
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:13:45
brandon g b
They're made in his likeness. um You see that in the gospels where the demons and unclean spirits are inflicting physical harm on the people that they possess.
00:13:55
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:13:55
brandon g b
You know, like the guy was cutting himself with stones and the guy who had a demon possessed son and said, this demon throws him into the fire and in the water. Satan doesn't like humans because they're made in his image.
00:14:06
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:14:08
brandon g b
How much more do you think he hates those that look like Christ who are conformed to the
00:14:11
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:14:14
brandon g b
image of his mortal enemy.
00:14:14
Christian McKenzie
Yeah. yeah
00:14:17
brandon g b
And so, you know, Ephesians 6 sheds light on this as well. um It says in verse 12, we don't 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.
00:14:36
Christian McKenzie
here
00:14:40
brandon g b
What's that tell us, Chris, about the real war going on here? What?
00:14:44
Christian McKenzie
That the war starts internally and spiritually. And i think the darker it gets, the more it spills out to a place where we can see it physically.
00:14:59
Christian McKenzie
But when you see someone that that hurts someone and kills someone, we've come to a time now where we can realize that there's something more than they were just mad and shot somebody or gunned them down or beat them up. And we're getting to this time where we're starting to realize that there's more depth to the internal conflict and the spiritual conflict that's going on behind these depraved people.
00:15:29
Christian McKenzie
And for example, there's been a lot of gun violence lately. um And I know a lot of people don't like to talk about this, but I think it's something we should talk about.
00:15:41
Christian McKenzie
ah concerning, you know, like the transgender ideology, ah that there's been a lot more violence there. And it's easy to be real mad at those people that enact this gun violence.
00:15:53
Christian McKenzie
And rightfully, yes, that you know, they need to be punished. they need There needs to be justice ah for the victims of these depraved people.
00:16:05
Christian McKenzie
But when you see them and you start to learn more about them, you see this violence, whole spiritual warfare that's going on well before they ever picked up a rifle, before they picked up any type of weapon to kill people.
00:16:15
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:16:20
Christian McKenzie
But they have pages and pages of these musings and these these awful things and these things talking about hating God. and i mean, it's it's complete spiritual warfare. And and ah I believe that the devil just throws them around to and fro, as scripture might put it, with every wind of doctrine to confuse them, make them feel worthless, make them hate God, and especially hate those that look like God.
00:16:49
Christian McKenzie
And I think we're seeing a time where people of the faith are very being very targeted, in these moments. You know, we we saw a church recently ah that was shot at by a transgender individual, a male that professed to be female, and he was just torn apart inside.
00:17:15
Christian McKenzie
And because he was torn apart inside, he felt like he had to tear people apart on the outside. and And so we see this spiritual warfare. It really starts right there.
00:17:25
Christian McKenzie
These forces of evil, these cosmic powers that are really influencing these people, especially young people,
Ideologies as Objects of Worship
00:17:34
Christian McKenzie
to do horrible things out in the open.
00:17:34
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:17:37
Christian McKenzie
and you know And these things are starting to happen in the daytime. is it like It's not a crime at night trying to be hidden, but coming right out and boldly doing these things Like they're serving up justice.
00:17:52
Christian McKenzie
And that's the thing about the devil. That's the thing about the spiritual warfare. It will exchange truth for the lie and wickedness for righteousness and call those who do good evil and those who do evil good.
00:18:08
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:18:11
brandon g b
Yeah, absolutely. And yeah, like you say, it's very easy to look at this on the surface and think that our enemies are those who perpetrate this violence.
00:18:26
brandon g b
And in a sense, that's true. And like you said, the government should do their Romans 13 job and use the sword to inflict terror on evildoers.
00:18:39
Christian McKenzie
Right.
00:18:40
brandon g b
They need to do a better job of that, frankly.
00:18:43
Christian McKenzie
Right.
00:18:43
brandon g b
ah like Like this fellow that just murdered this Ukrainian lady in cold blood. If they had put him behind bars, she might still be alive.
00:18:53
Christian McKenzie
Right.
00:18:53
brandon g b
That's just the reality. And you know some things are freak incidents you can't prevent, but I can't help but think that if our government turned up the knob on punishment a little bit, it might deter some evil.
00:19:07
brandon g b
But Really, that's an as aside. What I was getting at is there's something deeper going on.
00:19:13
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:19:14
brandon g b
It's not just a conflict with people who disagree with us politically or even spiritually. Satan is at work and all of his demonic host.
00:19:23
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:19:27
brandon g b
That's why Paul clarifies the conflict in that passage. He says, flesh and blood people, we don't wrestle against them.
Martyrdom and Christian Devotion
00:19:35
brandon g b
That's not our true enemy. Our true battle is against the cosmic powers of darkness, against Satan and his hosts. That's where the real conflict is.
00:19:46
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:19:47
brandon g b
so and you know You mentioned something, too, that um made me think of John 16, where you know these people that are doing this, they think they're doing a good thing.
00:20:02
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:20:02
brandon g b
um Jesus literally said in John 16, too, they'll put you out of the synagogues and make you outcasts And a time is coming when whoever kills you will think that he's offering service to God.
00:20:15
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:20:16
brandon g b
And, you know, we could apply that with a little g God. ah Everybody, like you said, serves some God, whether it's a false God or the true and living God.
00:20:27
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:20:28
brandon g b
But the thing is that's so dangerous is these people are taking a political ideology and making it an object of worship.
00:20:38
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:20:38
brandon g b
They're devoting everything to it. they're They're treating it with reverence and fear. And to them, they think, well, if I kill somebody for this idol, this political idol I worship, I'm doing a service to my God.
00:20:51
Christian McKenzie
m
00:20:53
brandon g b
And it's it's insane.
00:20:56
Christian McKenzie
And what a strange thing, too, when we think about how devoted they are, because it takes complete devotion to something to go that far into it, to go and and shoot at a church with children in it, to pass legislation to tear unborn children apart in the womb, to shoot someone in broad daylight for speaking the truth.
00:21:06
brandon g b
Right.
00:21:25
Christian McKenzie
the complete devotion they have, this is going to sound strange. So listen to this the whole way through when I say this should be an inspiration for us who know the truth to have even greater devotion to the living God, because if they're going all in for the lie and we know the truth, we should stand up like people that are like Charlie Kirk and he lost his life for it.
00:21:40
brandon g b
Right. Yeah.
00:21:52
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:21:54
Christian McKenzie
for standing up and being bold and preaching Jesus to thousands and thousands and thousands of students at a time.
00:21:54
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:22:03
Christian McKenzie
I mean, that's kind of like Acts chapter two types of congregations and people, people would, these students, i can't I don't even know how many students have put their faith in Jesus because of what Charlie Kirk has has presented to them.
Inspiration from Evil Ideologies
00:22:22
Christian McKenzie
But he went all in just like these other people went all in. He went all in for the truth.
00:22:26
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:22:28
Christian McKenzie
And we have so many people that are so ready to go all in for the lie. And we see how horrible that is hurting our nation and our communities.
00:22:39
Christian McKenzie
What would happen If the church went all in the same way that these people of the darkness went all in, that's something to ponder.
00:22:44
brandon g b
Hmm.
00:22:50
brandon g b
That's a really good lesson from this, actually, is evil is willing to work very hard to sow destruction and demise. How much harder should we work as children of light to preach Christ and, and win souls, lead them to Jesus and be that beacon of gospel hope that affects change in the culture.
00:23:03
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:23:14
Christian McKenzie
Right.
00:23:14
brandon g b
You know, it's, and you know, you mentioned, uh, Charlie, you know, dying, doing what he loved.
00:23:14
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm.
00:23:22
brandon g b
And what I think is, Interesting about that, maybe some people haven't thought about this, but you actually get a glimpse of the glory of the Christian faith in that.
00:23:34
brandon g b
That I would say most of us as Christians, I know I can speak for you and I, would be willing to die if it meant preaching the gospel to somebody that wanted to kill us.
00:23:47
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:23:47
brandon g b
Because as much as we don't want to be martyred, we don't want any soul going to hell.
00:23:53
Christian McKenzie
Right.
00:23:54
brandon g b
If it means our death, it means our death.
00:23:55
Christian McKenzie
Definitely.
00:23:58
brandon g b
And you tell me what religion, what religion has that mentality where we would spend ourselves and give ourselves as martyrs just so that even one soul, maybe a soul that's intent on taking our life, could be delivered from hell.
00:23:58
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:24:17
brandon g b
I mean, it's it's unique to the Christian faith.
00:24:18
Christian McKenzie
Well, that is unique because when you think about it, people might say, well you know, look at the devotion of these other faiths. They're willing to die.
00:24:28
Christian McKenzie
They're willing to die for themselves to guarantee their soul.
00:24:31
brandon g b
yeah
00:24:33
Christian McKenzie
And the Christian should be willing to die, not to guarantee their soul because their soul is already guaranteed, but to reach out to the lost and dying that they might hear and see and meet Jesus and be saved by his grace.
00:24:51
brandon g b
yeah
00:24:52
Christian McKenzie
and And so there's the difference. You know, these these people with these evil ideologies, they're out there.
00:24:54
brandon g b
yeah
00:24:59
Christian McKenzie
They're doing these things to secure themselves in their mind, to to gratify themselves, not to gratify others. but to gratify themselves and make themselves feel spiritually ah superior or righteous, self-righteous,
Charlie's Influence and Message
00:25:15
Christian McKenzie
you know whatever you want to call it, or even like take the Islamic faith, you know those that are willing to die.
00:25:23
Christian McKenzie
It's not to preach the gospel of their of their faith or the scriptures of their faith or whatever, but to secure themselves in their faith.
00:25:26
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:25:35
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:25:35
Christian McKenzie
So you're right. That is something that is completely true. and And there's something that I'm trying to find the quote here. It's a ah quote that Charlie Kirk would use quite often, and ah I'm going to butcher it so horribly right here.
00:25:50
Christian McKenzie
But ah John MacArthur, it was that quote by John MacArthur I told you about ah earlier. ah But he said, you really can't kill a Christian.
00:26:00
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:26:00
Christian McKenzie
You can only deliver them to Jesus.
00:26:00
brandon g b
Right.
00:26:02
brandon g b
right
00:26:02
Christian McKenzie
And Charlie Kirk quoted that not just once, but several times that i I've heard him quote that. And he had a strong belief that if he were to die, that that doesn't mean that the evil wins.
00:26:17
Christian McKenzie
If someone were to take his life, all they're doing is delivering him into the hands of Jesus. And I can kind of think of of it kind of being like this, that that had Charlie been able to say anything else in that moment before he passed, he wasn't able to, but if he had, I could imagine him saying something alone, like what the apostles had said about how it was a glory and an honor to suffer
00:26:45
brandon g b
Yeah.
Cultural and Spiritual Implications of Charlie's Death
00:26:49
Christian McKenzie
and die in the way that Jesus did, ah to be persecuted for the name of Jesus and,
00:26:51
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:26:56
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:26:57
Christian McKenzie
And and that that's what led to this, that he spoke out with the truth. He spoke out with the truth, and they can call it political, they can call it this, they can call it that, but he spoke the truth of God.
00:27:12
Christian McKenzie
he He presented Jesus to a confused generation And instead of receiving the truth, the lie, the darkness, tried to silence it.
00:27:25
Christian McKenzie
But here's the thing that that's interesting, and is that Charlie knew the truth. He wasn't the truth. Charlie knew the truth.
00:27:37
Christian McKenzie
This truth resides in all those that have put their faith in Jesus and follow him. And so by by killing ah Christian, not only do you deliver them to the hands of their Savior, but now you embolden a generation of believers to stand up and speak the truth.
00:27:54
brandon g b
yeah
00:27:59
Christian McKenzie
And I think that's what Charlie would have wanted, was not for people to get mad and sour and depressed, but to say, you know what?
00:28:01
brandon g b
yeah
00:28:08
Christian McKenzie
This means that we are doing the right thing. That don't be deceived. The world hated me first and it's going to hate you. That's what Jesus said to his followers.
00:28:18
brandon g b
right
00:28:20
Christian McKenzie
And that when it hates you, it's because it looks at you and realizes you don't belong there. So what a joy it is to suffer and to be persecuted and to even lay your life down for the name of Jesus.
00:28:35
Christian McKenzie
And I'm so glad that as I've watched Charlie Kirk, I've watched him for a while now. that I know his faith. I've seen his faith. And I know that he had a glorious day, a glorious day yesterday.
00:28:48
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:28:51
Christian McKenzie
And as sad as I could be that that the world lost a great man, that a wife lost her husband, and two children lost their dad, i can rejoice because he heard the words, welcome home, my good and faithful servant.
00:29:15
Christian McKenzie
So.
00:29:16
brandon g b
Absolutely. Yeah, that's the joy of ah the Christian.
00:29:20
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:29:21
brandon g b
Like Paul says in 1 Thessalonians, we don't grieve as others do who have no hope because our hope is in heaven.
00:29:28
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:29:29
brandon g b
And I mean, you just can't you just can't say this about other faiths and religions where in Charlie's case, as tragic as it was and not to minimize that, but his last breath on earth was his first breath of glory with with Christ that he served.
00:29:47
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:29:50
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm.
00:29:50
brandon g b
I mean, that just, that makes the suffering worth it.
00:29:54
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:29:54
brandon g b
You know, and and you know you were talking about what an honor it is to be persecuted for Christ. It really is.
00:30:04
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm.
00:30:04
brandon g b
It really is because persecution in any form, whether it's the sword or just slander, is the greatest thing. compliment a believer can ever receive.
00:30:16
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm.
00:30:16
brandon g b
And you nailed it when you mentioned, I think, John 15, where Jesus says, remember, if they hate you, they hated me first.
00:30:23
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:30:23
brandon g b
The thing is, when the devil's world system and unbelievers come against us for our faith, again, whether it's through martyrdom like we've just recently seen or or led trying to legislate us out of existence, what have you, the hatred that they direct towards us is actually directed towards Christ Because we're being so Christ-like, they can't tell the difference.
00:30:47
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:30:48
brandon g b
That's a compliment.
Christian Hope Amidst Spiritual Warfare
00:30:50
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:30:50
brandon g b
Thank you.
00:30:51
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:30:51
brandon g b
Please, please, Lord, let me be so Christ-like that I suffer like you do.
00:30:52
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:30:56
brandon g b
Because hopefully through that, somebody can be drawn to Christ. And there was a guy in church history that received some lashings for preaching the gospel.
00:31:08
brandon g b
And um I can't remember what his name it was or what country it was in, what time period. But His last words were, gentlemen, you have whipped me with roses.
00:31:20
brandon g b
Because he counted it an honor to suffer for the name of Christ. But one final thing to um mention from what you just said is um how if you're part of the kingdom of light, if you're a believer, you cannot lose.
00:31:39
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:31:39
brandon g b
You can't lose. And I think that's what we need to keep in perspective when it comes to this war between darkness and light. It is going to be savage and bloody, even bloody at times, as we've recently seen, as we saw a couple of years ago with several strings of church shootings even.
00:31:57
brandon g b
But if you're part of the light, you cannot lose, even if you die. And ah Colossians speaks about this in Colossians 2.
00:32:10
brandon g b
Verse 15, I'm going to pull that up real fast, and we'll chat about it a minute.
00:32:18
brandon g b
Y'all are seeing this recorded live, so wait um we don't have everything ready.
00:32:20
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:32:23
brandon g b
um I want to read this. I want you to give me your thoughts on this.
00:32:30
brandon g b
So this is Paul in Colossians 2, 15. he's He's just spoken about the work that Christ has accomplished.
00:32:40
brandon g b
you know canceling our debt. And then Paul says this in verse 15, he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him.
00:32:58
brandon g b
What does that say about Christ's victory over darkness and by extension our victory?
00:33:07
Christian McKenzie
The darkness has no power over the believer.
00:33:13
brandon g b
He disarmed him, you know?
00:33:14
Christian McKenzie
Yeah. Well, in their arm, their strength ah really was the law and the law's strength was sin and sin you know led it to death. and And he made a public spectacle of them on the cross, that when he shed his blood on the cross for sinners like you and me, that if we would believe, he would save us, he would redeem us, he would justify sanctify us.
00:33:46
Christian McKenzie
That now when the darkness comes against us, it has no leg to stand on.
00:33:53
brandon g b
Right.
00:33:53
Christian McKenzie
oh And just like we said, with would ah we were talking about John MacArthur's quote that Charlie Kirk liked to use is that, you know, the ah that darkness, people, you can't kill ah Christian.
00:34:08
brandon g b
Right.
00:34:09
Christian McKenzie
You can only deliver them to Jesus. And that's, at the end of the day, That's a true statement that no matter what the devil throws at us, no matter what these demons throw at us, no matter how much darkness is around us, because we reside in the light and we belong to the Savior and we have been conformed to his image.
Revelation's Promise of a Future Without Darkness
00:34:35
Christian McKenzie
These powers, these principalities, they can throw everything at us. They can break our bodies. They can bruise us. They can defame us, but they can never, ever beat us.
00:34:48
Christian McKenzie
And not because we're strong, not because we're great, but because we serve the one who is strong and who is great and who is worthy of worship and praise, who is the way, the life and the truth.
00:35:04
Christian McKenzie
And so he disarmed principalities that day on the cross saying, you can't do anything to those that belong to me.
00:35:13
brandon g b
Right. Yeah, it's just a, it's a comforting, um, military image, actually. He disarmed them. He took their, only weapons away.
00:35:24
brandon g b
Do they have physical weapons? Sure they do. Do they have governmental weapons?
00:35:27
Christian McKenzie
Right.
00:35:28
brandon g b
In many cases, yes. They ain't got the real weapons.
00:35:31
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:35:32
brandon g b
They don't have any weapons that can steal our salvation or do anything to our soul. They can't.
00:35:39
Christian McKenzie
Right. Mm-hmm.
00:35:40
brandon g b
you know um Christ has delivered our soul from sin and death. and so There is nothing that Satan can use, nothing his minions can use, nothing that satanically inspired extremists can use to win over a Christian.
00:35:57
Christian McKenzie
yes Yeah.
00:35:59
brandon g b
It's not possible. Christ has triumphed over them. And I really rejoice in knowing that. And, and we all know, um, like Billy Graham said, I've read the back of the book and I know who wins.
00:36:14
brandon g b
And even according to revelation 22, five, there's coming a day when darkness will be no more.
00:36:20
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:36:20
brandon g b
That's another great hope that we have. Um, And I hope that ah hope that this tragedy helps people see the hope of the Christian faith.
Grief, Lament, and Guarding Against Anger
00:36:30
brandon g b
We've been talking about it over and over, you know, ah not focusing as much on the tragedy, but the fact that a Christian has no reason to fear death and such. And one of the great hopes is in Revelation 22, 5, it says, and night will be no more.
00:36:47
brandon g b
They will need no light of lamp or sun for the Lord God will be their light and they will reign forever and ever. And, uh, and listen, I'm from, I'm from Ballard County, so I don't have a exceedingly great education.
00:37:01
brandon g b
So I don't know if your experience was like mine when I first read this, but I'm like, what's wrong the night?
00:37:03
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:37:09
brandon g b
You know, you know, why is that going to be gone in the new heaven and new earth?
00:37:11
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:37:13
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:37:14
brandon g b
Yeah. I mean, I love the night, you know, that's why I sleep.
00:37:16
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:37:17
brandon g b
Um, andnna But that's not what that's talking about. It's not saying that the physical night is necessarily bad. It's using the night as a metaphor. And it's saying that darkness and everything that comes along with it will be no more. It will not exist.
00:37:36
brandon g b
And we will exist in such a realm of light and goodness that the sun will go into retirement.
00:37:36
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:37:45
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:37:45
brandon g b
There won't need to be, there'll be no need for a physical lamp or sun because John the Apostle assures us God will be our light. We'll be in his glorious presence.
00:37:55
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm.
00:37:57
brandon g b
And i'm thankful to know that one day when my number is called, not only will I see Christ and live in that realm where there is no darkness, but I'll get to see Charlie again.
00:38:10
Christian McKenzie
Yeah. and And think of that, not just Charlie, but all of these other saints that have gone on before us, those that we know and those that we've never met a day in our life, that we will get to worship at the feet of our Savior with our brothers and sisters who have gone on before us and that
00:38:39
Christian McKenzie
we We can be sad here in this world that they've gone on before us. There's nothing wrong with that.
00:38:47
Christian McKenzie
But we can we can continue to have hope and continue to preach the good news of Jesus, knowing that one day we'll worship with them once more.
00:38:58
brandon g b
Yeah, absolutely. So let's offer some concluding thoughts then, because I think we've covered how this is really a spiritual war.
Boldness in Preaching Against Moral Decline
00:39:06
brandon g b
um
00:39:07
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:39:08
brandon g b
i'll I'll just throw a few applications out and and you just add ah to it however you see fit. But I would say number one, and this is speaking personally, in a time like this, yes, we do need to speak out, but we also have to be very careful to guard our hearts and words.
00:39:29
Christian McKenzie
yes
00:39:29
brandon g b
um I told my church, ah we're recording this on Thursday, and I told my church last night, I can't comment on this because I'm extremely too angry.
00:39:39
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:39:41
brandon g b
I'm righteously indignant, and righteous indignation can turn into sinful anger very fast. And I just said, I'm too angry to say anything wise.
00:39:50
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:39:53
brandon g b
um So I know myself, you know, And there is a lot of hatred and anger on social media right now. And and we should be angry. Again, righteous indignation is holy.
00:40:05
brandon g b
God is righteously indignant.
00:40:06
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:40:08
brandon g b
But we do have to be very careful about what we say um because it's easy to speak just purely from our emotions and not from ah point of righteous and and and indignation and truth.
00:40:10
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:40:20
brandon g b
um And I would also say two other things. um Number two, It's good to lament. If you feel sorrow and grief, you should.
00:40:32
brandon g b
If you don't, something is terribly wrong.
00:40:33
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:40:35
brandon g b
Something is terribly wrong.
00:40:36
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:40:38
brandon g b
Lament is a good thing. It's good to acknowledge the loss and the pain and the brokenness. And there are plenty instances plenty of instances in Scripture um where the best of us, the best of saints lamented in the presence of God,
00:40:45
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:40:54
brandon g b
And God and was never offended by it. He always responded with his peace and presence. Even the book of Habakkuk, you know, that prophet is lamenting that violence is all around him. And God takes his requests and laments into account and responds not with, well, Habakkuk, you just need to get over it.
00:41:13
brandon g b
You know, he acknowledges his lament as legitimate.
00:41:13
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:41:17
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:41:18
brandon g b
And then, yeah.
00:41:19
Christian McKenzie
Well, Christ himself, knowing full well he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, had compassion on those that were mourning, had compassion on Lazarus, whom he loved.
00:41:20
brandon g b
Yeah.
00:41:35
Christian McKenzie
ah And it led him to a time where we read the shortest verse in Scripture that Jesus wept.
00:41:42
brandon g b
Yeah, correct.
00:41:45
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:41:45
brandon g b
Yeah, it's it's Christ-like to lament. um I would also add a couple more things. um if you're Here's another thing. If you're a Christian, speak up more boldly than you ever have.
00:42:00
Christian McKenzie
Here.
00:42:01
brandon g b
Because don't don't you think, Chris, that... we're seeing a change in the culture, a shifting tide. i mean, we kind of, ah don't know why I asked you that question. with We've been talking about that the whole episode.
00:42:11
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:42:14
brandon g b
And it is a blessing that we still have freedom of speech, but now you can't do it openly without a threat on your life. So we need to do as much as we can to push back on the moral decline and preach the gospel louder, more bolder than we ever have.
00:42:33
Christian McKenzie
And I think the fact that we've kept our mouths shut for so long has really added to this. It's easy to complain about the world being bad, but that's just what the world does.
00:42:45
Christian McKenzie
If something bad is going on, it takes brave men and women to stand up for what is good and to speak out. And I will tell you this, there's nothing in this world as good as God and his holy word.
00:43:02
Christian McKenzie
And now is the time more than ever not to give in to fear, not to give in to chaos or anger, but to stand up and boldly proclaim the word, even if it leads to something horrible in this world.
00:43:19
Christian McKenzie
The worst they can do in this world is take your life. And that's the best thing that they could do to you. To live is Christ and to die is gain.
00:43:25
brandon g b
yeah
00:43:27
Christian McKenzie
Philippians 121. That's what Paul writes. And so I think we as Christians, we are called not to be silent. And I think silence, really when we think about it, is a sin.
Urgency in Sharing Faith
00:43:43
brandon g b
it is
00:43:44
Christian McKenzie
In this way, to he who knows what is good, And does not do it. John w writes. That is.
00:43:55
Christian McKenzie
Sin.
00:43:57
brandon g b
Right.
00:43:58
Christian McKenzie
And we have to be. We have to speak. We have to witness. We have to proclaim the holy word of God. and And if you're. If you say hey I'm a Christian. And I really just don't want to do that.
00:44:11
Christian McKenzie
I don't know how you can have the Holy Spirit in you. And not want to share him with others.
00:44:19
brandon g b
right
00:44:19
Christian McKenzie
And so there's there's one of two things. Either you really know it or you're such a miserable Christian because you are ignoring God's call on your life. And I've been there.
00:44:30
Christian McKenzie
I've been there. I've been a miserable Christian.
00:44:31
brandon g b
yeah
00:44:33
Christian McKenzie
ah So my encouragement. would be if if you're not a Christian, this is the time to put your faith in Jesus and to boldly proclaim his word. And if you are a Christian, speak up, speak up, speak up, give give it all you've got.
00:44:47
Christian McKenzie
Every last breath that you have, if you get to live a long and wonderful life, that's great. Or if you're gunned down in the streets, that guess what? For God, that's great too.
00:45:00
brandon g b
yeah
00:45:00
Christian McKenzie
Speak up with everything you've got. Not with your opinions, not with your thoughts, but with the word of God.
00:45:09
brandon g b
Absolutely. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And in a way, i can already see how the Lord is using this for good in that regard, because you know for for better or worse, I've seen several people post, and I agree with it, that the tragic death of Charlie Kirk has raised up a million Charlie Kirks.
00:45:31
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:45:31
brandon g b
And I know some can misinterpret that as like right-wing extremism, but the good aspect of that is we need more of him.
00:45:43
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:45:43
brandon g b
We need more of him. He would want that. And we have to, we got to come out of the shadows. I mean, like you were saying, we're halfway in this situation because we've been sitting on our hands for too long.
00:45:55
Christian McKenzie
Right.
00:45:56
brandon g b
We're more worried about tolerance and acceptance. And look where we're at. Look what's happening to our children and to our unborn children, to our marriages, to our culture at large, to the,
00:46:00
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm. Yes.
00:46:09
brandon g b
taking of innocent life. I don't know.
00:46:12
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm.
00:46:12
brandon g b
I can't help but think that if we as Christians were going door to door and on the streets, preaching the gospel and being more intentional about that more often, we might be in a different place.
00:46:25
Christian McKenzie
yes
00:46:25
brandon g b
And you know, you can't, you can't change everything. Evil is always going to stick around, but I don't know. I just feel like the church at large is responsible for some of this. Like,
00:46:40
brandon g b
Where was this? i didn't come into existence until 1994, but ah can't imagine that the church was very outraged during Roe v.
00:46:44
Christian McKenzie
yeah
00:46:52
brandon g b
Wade. So many so-called churches sat on their hands and saw it as a legal thing and said nothing.
00:46:56
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:47:01
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:47:01
brandon g b
At what cost? The cost of millions and millions of unborn lives.
00:47:07
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:47:08
brandon g b
And we're seeing a similar taking of human life with people like Charlie Kirk and church shootings and such. And, you know, what I'm, what we're not advocating is like protesting on the streets and stuff and taking up arms.
00:47:22
brandon g b
We're saying wield the sword of the spirit.
00:47:25
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:47:25
brandon g b
That's the only thing that can change people. Dude,
00:47:28
Christian McKenzie
that's That's the best weapon you can have is the sword of the spirit.
00:47:31
brandon g b
it's a weapon that can change somebody from being an enemy of God to his friend.
00:47:37
Christian McKenzie
Yes. Yeah.
00:47:38
brandon g b
It's the best weapon we have. And we've just we've got to do more. We've got to do more unless we want more of what we've been seeing.
00:47:43
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:47:48
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:47:48
brandon g b
um And I'll say one final thing just to give a second um to what you said about making a decision to follow Christ.
00:47:59
brandon g b
At the end of the day, one of the big lessons from all this is that none of us are invincible.
Call to Repentance and Acceptance of Christ
00:48:07
brandon g b
None of us. You could not have told.
00:48:11
brandon g b
ah Charlie would not have believed if you told him that yesterday was going to be his last day on earth. We all have this. Even as Christians, you know we know that death is coming, but we have this complex where we think we're just not vulnerable to death.
00:48:26
brandon g b
I'm healthy. I'm young. you know I've lived a long life, what have you.
00:48:30
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:48:32
brandon g b
It's coming for all of us. because death is an appointment that God has made in eternity.
00:48:38
Christian McKenzie
see
00:48:38
brandon g b
It's appointed unto man once to die and after this is the judgment.
00:48:42
Christian McKenzie
Right.
00:48:44
brandon g b
Nobody's off the hook. So what is the wisest and best thing you can do knowing that death is inevitable for all of us? It is inevitable and often sudden. What you should do is repent and believe in Christ, and the only one that can give you life after death.
00:49:00
brandon g b
what and and Honestly, what excuse?
00:49:00
Christian McKenzie
yes
00:49:03
brandon g b
can you possibly offer for putting that off?
00:49:06
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:49:06
brandon g b
What excuse is worth losing your own soul?
00:49:10
Christian McKenzie
Yeah.
00:49:10
brandon g b
If any ah any of you are listening to this podcast and you're on the fence about trusting in Christ or you know that you never have, please let this be God's message speaking to you.
00:49:23
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:49:24
brandon g b
Repent of your sins. Turn away from that lifestyle and put all of your trust and faith in Christ and His finished work for your salvation.
00:49:32
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:49:32
brandon g b
That's the only hope we have of life after death.
00:49:34
Christian McKenzie
Yep. Amen.
00:49:39
brandon g b
Well, any concluding, additional concluding thoughts?
00:49:46
Christian McKenzie
Nope. Nope. I think, I think that was a good way to wrap
Conclusion and Prayer for Strength
00:49:50
Christian McKenzie
it up. Put your faith in Jesus. Stop hiding in the darkness. Come out to the light. Let me tell you, you have more joy in the light.
00:49:58
Christian McKenzie
So much more joy.
00:49:58
brandon g b
Absolutely. Absolutely.
00:49:59
Christian McKenzie
So,
00:50:00
brandon g b
Absolutely. and And all Christians know that from having been in the darkness as unbelievers before Christ got a hold of us.
00:50:04
Christian McKenzie
excuse
00:50:07
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:50:10
brandon g b
Well, listen, we are thankful to all of our listeners tuning in, and we just really hope that this has given you comfort and joy and wisdom to figure out how to navigate these increasingly difficult times.
00:50:23
brandon g b
So take some of these lessons, p apply them to your heart and life, and and we're going to do our best by God's grace to do the same.
00:50:23
Christian McKenzie
Yes.
00:50:30
brandon g b
But we appreciate you guys joining us.
00:50:31
Christian McKenzie
Mm-hmm.
00:50:32
brandon g b
Hope you've been blessed by this. yeah i Continue to tune in as we put out episodes. ah We appreciate your support on all of our platforms online. And as always, we like to wrap up these episodes with prayer.
00:50:47
brandon g b
And Chris, would you do that for us?
00:50:50
Christian McKenzie
Yeah. Father, thank you so much for just giving us a moment to search your word
00:51:01
Christian McKenzie
for answers during these trying and dark times. Father, we thank you for so many faithful people that have lived here in this world that have now gone on to truly live in your glory, in your presence.
00:51:18
Christian McKenzie
Father, and it's a tough time as we see so many outstanding figures like Charlie Kirk and others that have been taken what seems like way too soon from us. But Father, we thank you for all the things you've done in their life, the inspiration that Charlie was to to so many people, that that he was an inspiration that pointed to you.
00:51:48
Christian McKenzie
that pointed young people to you. And now that he's not here, Father, in this world, to point young students to you, help us that remain here to step up, to speak up and share your gospel with all those around us.
00:52:09
Christian McKenzie
Father, we love you. We thank you for all that you have done for us. And we seek your comfort and peace during these times and your strength to continue on.
00:52:21
Christian McKenzie
It's in Jesus name. I pray all these things. Amen.
00:52:25
brandon g b
Amen.