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An Amazing Memorial, but What is Next? - FF 010
20 Plays14 days ago
Even though Charlie Kirk's memorial was incredible and wonderful, where do we go from here? Is this the incredible revival that we have prayed for? Our fatherhood panel discusses the impact Charlie's memorial service had upon them and what they see the future bringing. Be challenged and encouraged today! God bless!
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Email us: Dads@PreacherDad.com
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Transcript
Introduction & Memorial Impact
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello everybody, welcome to the Preacher Dad podcast. My name is Jared and this is Fatherhood Friday. Today we're going to talk a little bit about our experience observing Charlie Kirk's memorial service as well as his death and some of the thoughts that have been going through our minds.
00:00:19
Speaker
I know all of you dads and moms and and really everybody out there that's listening This has been a lot on your mind, and I hope that you will find some encouragement and some strength and hope from the things that we share today.
00:00:34
Speaker
And our fatherhood panel is certainly very moved and emotional, but also resolved and inspired. And we talk about some of our thoughts. We talk about what we feel like the church needs to be doing going forward, how we should respond, what we should do now.
00:00:50
Speaker
And so I hope that you will find some hope and some guidance from this episode today.
Sponsorship & Emotional Reflection
00:00:55
Speaker
Just a quick reminder, this episode is brought to you by Cornerstone Fellowship, which is at 27846 County Road 112 in Tombsboro, Georgia. We would love to visit with you if you want to come and see us.
00:01:09
Speaker
All right, let's start Fatherhood Friday. God bless you.
00:01:21
Speaker
Hello, everybody. Welcome to Fatherhood Friday. We are glad to have you with us. My name is Jared and they call me the preacher dad. Well, really, I call myself the preacher dad. Nobody else really calls me that.
00:01:36
Speaker
But I'm glad to to welcome back our fatherhood panel, Matt Stewart and Tony Russell and Mr. Nate Eisner. I'm very grateful for these guys and their friendship and the way that we strengthen one another as men.
00:01:52
Speaker
In the Lord and we are all Christians and we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and. um Tonight we are going to share a little bit with you of our thoughts concerning Charlie Kirk and the events that have transpired over the last week and a half.
00:02:10
Speaker
And um some of the impact that it has had on us. This ah we have just. Observed.
00:02:21
Speaker
the you know the The things that happened at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk were so profound in my mind. And we just want to share some of our thoughts with you tonight about that.
00:02:36
Speaker
um I know you guys you guys all get a chance to chime in here, but um I know that for me, watching that memorial service was both inspiring and ah grief laden and emotional all at the
Forgiveness at the Memorial: Erica's Story
00:02:52
Speaker
same time. I tell you,
00:02:54
Speaker
um when she ah when she forgave the man that murdered her son, I have hardly ever in my life seen a more powerful moment displayed to the world like that was.
00:03:08
Speaker
and and And the the fact that that it was exemplifying the forgiveness that Jesus gave to us all and and to the people that were killing him And he says, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. She said, my husband wanted to save guys like the guy that shot him.
00:03:26
Speaker
So I forgive him. I forgive him. That is that is Christ's love. It is. It is amazing. I can't even hardly get over it. and and And I was jumping up and down in my seat, basically, yeah when when Rob McCoy said, OK, if you're not a believer and you want to put your faith in Jesus Christ, I want you to stand up.
00:03:46
Speaker
I almost stood up just to cheer because i was I was over the moon for that. I was breaking down. I was saying, praise God. I was crying.
00:03:57
Speaker
Oh, man, I probably used up six boxes of Kleenexes during that thing. I mean, um no you know, I just tell you, i that that whole service was incredible to me.
00:04:10
Speaker
i could have done without some of the raw, raw Republican stuff near the end, but Overall, it was really good. And I just was so blessed by it.
00:04:21
Speaker
And I think that, you know, just remembering Charlie's life, I put this, I put this out on my social media. I said, look, you know, maybe some of you won't like this very much, but I don't care. Charlie Kirk is the Christian I want to be.
00:04:34
Speaker
i mean, I want to be a Christian like he was. And it has just been so encouraging to me and honestly convicting that I waste too much time.
Charlie's Message & Personal Reflection
00:04:46
Speaker
And I think one of the biggest, um one of my, this is not the only thing, I've been thinking about this so much, but one of the biggest, I think, impacts and takeaways for my life is that I need to be more diligent and I need to be more focused on changing lives, on teaching my kids, on pointing them to Jesus.
00:05:12
Speaker
You know, i waste too much time just having fun. And there's nothing wrong with fun, but we need to focus on the things that are more eternally significant. um You know, that phrase that Charlie liked to say has been rolling around in my head a lot.
00:05:27
Speaker
Hey, we got a country to save, folks. You know, it's like we're we're at war. This is not the time to kick back and relax and enjoy the fruits of our labor. This is the time to labor.
00:05:39
Speaker
And so that has been really, really challenging to me. But. I mean, what do you guys think? What's some of your ah major takeaways? What's some of the things that you've been thinking about and considering ah this last 10, 15 days?
00:05:58
Speaker
I guess it's only been 12 days since he was shot. and It'll be interesting to see how far this debate goes over the the coming weeks ahead. But ah the the instance that you're citing with Erica forgiving of the one who changed her life forever, was exceptionally powerful.
00:06:20
Speaker
But it was equally matched, i think not necessarily as and in powerful in gravitas, but certainly in importance, that when Trump got up there, I think trying to have some levity, um who knows how appropriate that ever is with him, but ah coming up there and saying that Charlie, you know one of the best for his enemies, but I do not.
00:06:40
Speaker
um I think that that was equally important because I think that's going to be a An area where a lot of Christians need to mature a little bit as we move forward, where they are people in different roles that are required to respond in different ways.
00:06:59
Speaker
Trump, you know, he's kind of he's a representation of the governmental power that's been given the authority of God to enact justice on the evildoers. He cannot forgive.
00:07:11
Speaker
That's not within his right. his it's not the right of the government to come in and forgive the wickedness around us. And that's what you see in some of these, you know, very overly, um you know, overly dark blue areas where like repeat criminals are let go over and over and over again ah to terrorize citizens, to harm people.
00:07:36
Speaker
ah Even, you know, before Charlie Kirk, there was that lady in South Carolina who was stabbed to death. on a bus by guy had been arrested 14 times before he'd come in.
00:07:48
Speaker
That type of of empathy, it's it's gripping of the heart to want to be able to forgive. It's incredibly moving that Erica did. And it's such a powerful testimony.
00:07:59
Speaker
But if we demand that same response from our government, we make an error, a significant one that harms a lot of innocent people. And I think, I can't remember who it was. It might've been Joel Webb and somebody was asking them, what would happen if you, you know, if the, um you know, this this assassin was um ah to receive Jesus and truly repent from his jail cell, what would your response be? And you'd be like, praise God, let's get him, let's get him a bucket and a rope, you know, a bucket to perform a baptism and a rope to hang him.
00:08:32
Speaker
And it's the, the unfortunate, nature of the thing is, you know, in the, even the example of the New Testament, the thief never came off the cross. that was ah redeemed by the Lord. He still had to carry out his his sentence.
00:08:45
Speaker
And that's the, I think that'll be interesting because i think evangelicalism has been weaponized, that the ah empathy in the hearts of evangelicals has been weaponized for years to ah require that the biblical Christian stance is a weak government, a weak on crime government, a very loose and easy to manipulate, easy to conquer government.
00:09:10
Speaker
And I think that that's coming to an end. I think there this is ah an instance where we get to see the beauty and grace of the one who was offended, being able to offer up the love of Jesus Christ.
00:09:21
Speaker
But at the same time, the the actual authority that God gives to government to exact the sort of justice, to preserve integrity in society, and to defend innocence.
00:09:33
Speaker
And I think this is a really great example of that in ah in a pretty unprecedented way. so I'll be interested to see where that dialogue and that debate continues over the next several weeks, especially inside of evangelicalism.
Faith, Forgiveness, and Justice
00:09:47
Speaker
Yeah, you know, this this reminds me of something that my teacher used to tell me at college, and that was ah you always have to consider jurisdictions. And what is the jurisdiction? What is the zone you're supposed to be in? This is not your jurisdiction, or this is.
00:10:01
Speaker
And it is our jurisdiction to forgive offenders. It is not our jurisdiction to mete out justice. but it is the jurisdiction of the government to mete out justice.
00:10:12
Speaker
yes would you know that That is the sword that they bear, and they bear it not in vain, according to Romans 13. So they're definitely, i saw somebody else say, I don't remember who it was, but forgiveness doesn't mean a removal of consequences. I mean, yeah in no way, no way there there are consequences that come for your actions.
00:10:34
Speaker
And I think that in addition to the consequences coming coming to the shooter, um ah if he's convicted, I definitely think that there are other consequences that are going to come in this country and have already because of the, you know, the watershed moment that this was.
00:10:55
Speaker
This is one of the biggest, most significant things that has ever happened in our country's history. Hey, Jared, I want to read Romans 13, a few verses real quick, just to So they don't think we're just, you know, spouting off some nonsense. This is actually what it says. for For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.
00:11:16
Speaker
Would you have no fear of the one who is an authority? Then do what is good and you will receive his approval. For he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid.
00:11:26
Speaker
For he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, and avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. So he's an avenger of, that is the the the government, the yeah authority, carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. There you go Pretty clear.
00:11:46
Speaker
It is. yeah
00:11:51
Speaker
Nate, what are your thoughts? A lot. and I don't know how to how to fit it all into a...
Charlie's Faith & Legacy
00:11:58
Speaker
i think i Honestly, I think a lot of us are processing.
00:12:02
Speaker
yeah lot of brain do and i've you know I think a lot us. And I've done a lot of processing with my wife over the last 12 days as well. But I guess I could start off by saying, oh admittedly, I did not know much about Charlie Kirk prior to this happening. I knew who he was. i mean, i was well familiar with you know his his clips that would pop up on my social media from time to time. was familiar with Turning Point and what they were.
00:12:26
Speaker
But I will say i did not really know who he was um and the depth of integrity that he had and the depth of his faith. I was not familiar with that prior to oh the assassination.
00:12:40
Speaker
um And so that has been, you know, amongst many other emotions that I've felt, you know, over the last 12 days, one of them has been regret that I didn't get to know him sooner and know his work sooner.
00:12:55
Speaker
Um, cause had I known about that over the last five years, my Lord, I would have mean butve been head first into that kind of stuff. So, um, you know, and I'm very glad that they're continuing on.
00:13:07
Speaker
Um, like they're up to now 50,000 plus requests for new chapters across the United States and it's phenomenal. Um, so yeah, I mean, that's, that's kind of my, my preface, but, um, I think they're at 62. Oh, they're 62.
00:13:21
Speaker
No. Um, know um
00:13:27
Speaker
One thing I expressed to y'all the day it happened, because we were, this is before we had found out that he had even, the news had broken and even passed. We were all texting. And I've never, I've never been affected emotionally by the death of a public figure like I have with Charlie Kirk.
00:13:47
Speaker
And that's for someone that I've never, you know, I really didn't know that much about. i think the initial, initial thing for me, was obviously it's heartbreaking for his wife and children.
00:14:02
Speaker
That's, you know, anybody's heart ought to break for that. But I think what got me is we've, we've seen this happen to many elected officials and people in power, but he was a civilian that just so happened to have a very loud voice.
00:14:18
Speaker
And he was a civilian that shared almost all, if not all the beliefs I have. And so if they can do that to him, it just it put into perspective that that was never beyond our country in the first place. And it was just, it was a sobering moment.
00:14:37
Speaker
And not long after that, we started to, I started to learn more about him. And, you know, the emotion has gone from, you know, ah think my tears have gone from tears of grief to now tears of joy and hope for the revival that we are seeing in our nation.
00:14:54
Speaker
because that is something that I have wanted and prayed for for so long. I know our church has prayed for it. And um to see it happen in the way that it has is just mind-blowing and at a loss of words for it, really.
00:15:09
Speaker
um I know for me personally, like so many other people, this is not new. This is not a new testimony, but you know it has certainly drawn me closer to the Lord.
00:15:20
Speaker
um i have found myself putting a higher priority on my quiet times, not just in the morning, but throughout the day that pray without ceasing is, I mean, even, I've just found myself even in the quiet moments, not even realizing that I'm praying just to, you know, realize that conversing with the Lord, um, I was able to share the gospel with, um, someone this week and not that I have never done that before, but it made me more aware that I need to be, I need to be
00:15:54
Speaker
diligent and seeking those opportunities. And whereas I think in the past, I've kind of reacted to the moments that I had the opportunity to share the gospel someone, more of an afterthought, oh, I probably ought to, you know, this is a great opportunity I ought to share.
00:16:11
Speaker
i had ah knew that I was going to have the opportunity. And so I hadd spent some time that day praying that the Lord would not only give me the opportunity in conversation, but give me the words to say,
00:16:22
Speaker
pray for the individual that he would soften his heart. And it wasn't a come to Jesus moment, but it was certainly received well. And I would say better than probably any of the other times that I have shared the gospel with an individual.
00:16:34
Speaker
um And, you know, that is the kind of fire and encouragement that I think they talked about it in the memorial about how faith is a discipline and it is a great habit to be. And there's, I think they played a little clip of Charlie saying that of,
00:16:51
Speaker
you know obviously, you know faith comes from the Lord, but when we put in our effort at it, it becomes a habit, it becomes a discipline, and it makes it that much easier for us to do our part.
00:17:06
Speaker
And I know that all all of our good works are filthy rags, and only any goodness that's in us is is the Holy Spirit working through us, but still, we have to put in our effort in order for the Lord to be able to even, you not now that he can't use us, but
00:17:23
Speaker
we can certainly be more effective when we try, i guess that's a better way to put it. But so, yeah, I mean, that's, yeah, I'm, I'm sure i'm forgetting many other things, but ah I, I haven't shared that with our church, not this past Sunday, but the week before, you know, if I can just challenge cause we, I'm involved with the music and so I'm on the microphone at least twice
Community Engagement & Personal Growth
00:17:43
Speaker
throughout the service. And, um, they're, ah they're, they're pretty okay with me saying stuff. So I took the opportunity um,
00:17:52
Speaker
I think I said something to the effect of if I could just challenge you to do three things this week, just spend time with the Lord for one. First thing you do when you wake up, if the first thing that you do when you wake up in the morning is hop on social media, you're not setting yourself up well to serve the Lord that day.
00:18:08
Speaker
That's a bad habit. I heard a pat pastor, Joey Martin down in Jacksonville, Florida. I heard him say this is that I encourage people to throw their cell phone under the bed at night so that when you go to retrieve it in the morning, you got to get on your knees first.
00:18:19
Speaker
I thought that was that was pretty good. So that was verse number one is spend time with the Lord. Number two is share the gospel with someone this week in whatever way you can. You don't have to have, you know, you don't have to be a PhD in apologetics.
00:18:34
Speaker
All you have to do is think about what God saved you from and tell someone. It's that simple. Christ asked us asked us to be his witness and That starts by just saying, this is what the Lord delivered me from. This is what he saved me from. This is what Christ has done in my life.
00:18:51
Speaker
It's simple. Spend time with the Lord. Tell someone about Jesus. And number three, put a high value on community. We have Wednesday night service. I encourage people to, I know everybody has a different schedule, but put a priority on it.
00:19:03
Speaker
if If it's not a priority, if you don't make time for it, it's never going to happen. And if your work schedule does not allow it, man, call up a brother, get together with him for coffee. get together for for lunch, invite them over to your house, go to their house, whatever, but just spend time with other believers because when you have the opportunity to share, hey, I had this conversation with my coworker. I had this conversation with the guy at the gas station. This person in my family you know needs the Lord. My wife and I are going through this right now. Hey man, I'm having a really hard time you know staying staying disciplined in my prayer life.
00:19:37
Speaker
When you have the brotherhood and sisterhood too for the females out there, but when we have that community, man, that that's that' that's the church. that That is the the pinnacle of the church is Christians walking together, bearing one another's burdens.
00:19:54
Speaker
um And so the the biggest thing for me has just been ah personal revival and the the desire, the immense hunger to see that across our nation. And I think it's happening and oh it's amazing.
00:20:11
Speaker
it It really is amazing that they, I think they they said it was over 100 million people tuned in across the world to see that memorial. is amazing. I mean, now there was 300,000 people there yes that showed up.
00:20:27
Speaker
They estimated 300,000 people. That's more than come to the biggest soccer matches all over the world. That's incredible. But then 100 million people heard the gospel over and over and over again. And clear as day. Not a brief mention.
00:20:46
Speaker
Like yeah the gospel. like Not like as like ah you know sweet little you know token offering of Jesus loves us and died for our sins. We're talking like solid doctrinal truth andpay from the secretary of state. Repent of your sins and turn to Jesus.
00:21:05
Speaker
from i over and over again it's like you know i prayed because when i saw the list of speakers that were going to speak you know they they listed yeah a lot of political leaders but not people that i would say are solidly christian you know there was no charlie kirks on the list know what saying like sure that i mean they i mean i love president trump and vice president vance and you know the people they listed i'm I'm supporters of, but I was like, are they really going to give the gospel in a clear way?
00:21:38
Speaker
And are they going to portray Charlie's faith in a way that would glorify God or not? I was sort of wondering, and there was no pastors listed on the list that I saw.
00:21:51
Speaker
And then Rob McCoy comes out first and Rob McCoy is a great pastor and just, presents it so clearly. and but But then it kept happening. Guys, it kept happening. yeah And I was praying. I prayed that that day at church, I said to our congregation, we just need to pray that God would send the gospel and that he would bring some sort of minister there to you know speak the truth and make sure that that happens.
00:22:18
Speaker
And then it kept going and going. i felt like God answered my prayer in the first five minutes of the service, and then it just kept going. And More and more. I actually had to, we um our family had another engagement. We had to go away. We came back and I saw clips later. I was like, good grief. Every single person up there talked about Jesus.
00:22:36
Speaker
And some of them gave altar calls. Some of them are like, yeah turn your life over to Christ. This is the this is the revival. This is the reformation moment that I have prayed for since I was 18 years old.
Impact of Charlie's Legacy & Memorial
00:22:50
Speaker
yeah I can't even, I can't even hardly get over that. It's, it's astounding. And then, then I start thinking, wait a minute, this is great. It's wonderful. And it's so powerful, but the emotions can fade.
00:23:05
Speaker
Yeah. And it, you know, there's a temptation here or there's a danger that when the emotions of this incredible moment begin to fade away, that people then to begin to fade away from their faith and,
00:23:18
Speaker
If they've truly come to Jesus, I don't think that's going to happen. And I think it's going to be my life was changed at this moment. um I feel like it seems to me this is a lot deeper than just an emotional moment. It is very emotional.
00:23:32
Speaker
But do you guys agree? 100 percent. This I.
00:23:41
Speaker
For me. i know this has changed my life as a believer. And. I know me, and I know that I'm a little podunk Nate from the middle of nowhere.
00:23:53
Speaker
And, you know, the things that I have seen over the last... News stories don't last this long. Yeah. Typically.
00:24:04
Speaker
I mean, the news site, like, not to this depth. And I understand that we just had the memorial service, and by the time this episode comes out, it'll be another week, pretty much. oh But this thing is only growing.
00:24:18
Speaker
And i mean, that's something that one, we need to pray it continues. But the way that it keeps growing is individuals like us from the middle of nowhere and that are willing to have our lives changed by the gospel and willing to do something about it. They they they brought it up at the service in Isaiah.
00:24:37
Speaker
Here, my Lord, send me. yeah If we would pray that and if we mean it, the Lord will answer that prayer. And I know I'm praying that for myself and my family. and mean wow And that is, that's where we are.
00:24:51
Speaker
And I will say too, you could tell the difference between, ah not not in a judgmental way, but you can tell the difference through all throughout that memorial service. The people who genuinely wanted to proclaim the gospel and those who felt pressured to say it.
00:25:06
Speaker
And that, all I can say is the Holy Spirit, you know, giving that, i don't say discernment from a sense of like, oh, don't trust this guy. But, you can see the individuals who truly have had their lives impacted by the gospel. And those are the individuals who want to pray for everybody, but you want to pray that that fire continues because some of these people, I mean, I was really impressed with JD Vance and what he said about how the last two weeks he's talked about Jesus more. like he
00:25:37
Speaker
He said what everybody feels. I've always been kind of ashamed of the gospel. it's kind of like that. deal i don't know if the kids are watching, him but there's this one video. He says, I'm not something no more.
00:25:47
Speaker
He's like, I'm not ashamed no more. That's what it felt like to me. oh But, you know, ah I'm kind of rambling now, but no it does that make sense, what what I'm saying?
00:26:04
Speaker
absolutely. I think in part what is going to make this stick is the access to accountability. And I think that there's going to be yeah There's certainly going to be voices that are out there that are going to want to pick up the mic and run with it that are doing it because that's a great career move. There's a lot of great opportunity there.
00:26:24
Speaker
And I think they'll burn out quick. I don't think those people are going to be able to hold. this yeah They're not going to hold the interest of the crowds, for one, because people are going to be able to see through that. People can see right they can see right through it.
00:26:36
Speaker
yeah yeah I guess that's what I trying to say. That's what I was trying to say earlier. is like You can tell when somebody has that. yeah the spirit in them. Yeah. And I, I think that's going to be, um that's going to be a powerful aspect of the next chapter of whatever's coming next.
00:26:56
Speaker
I think that there's, you know in, in watching, you know, how everything was received, you know, you're talking about from Isaiah here, on my Lord said, me that theme has been so recurring over and over and over and over again.
00:27:11
Speaker
And when you're talking about the whole swirl of emotions, that's kind of hitting right now. For me, ah know as a father, as somebody who's, I'm not significantly older than where Charlie was.
00:27:24
Speaker
um i like, you know his he's he's an inspirational character for me. um you know is His legacy is something like you, Jared. I'm just thinking like, man, what what a shortcoming I have in so many different aspects of how I treat my life versus where this man was and how effective he was.
00:27:43
Speaker
because of his higher level of discipline and commitment and focus. And there's a million different avenues. I start to pick it my own life and be like, man, I wish I could be more like somebody like that. Somebody of consequence, somebody that could do something that would matter in eternity.
00:27:56
Speaker
And, you know, that, that passage, that little refrain here, my Lord, send me, um keeps coming back over and over and over again, because the the mistake is thinking that Charlie Kirk had some supernatural capacity. None of us have, right?
00:28:12
Speaker
that he had had some skill set, some intellect. Of course he was brilliant. Of course he did have ah great articulation and and great recall to be able to really use well the gifts that God had given him to speak well, to make a great defense for Christianity across the country. But that's not the only gift that's needed. That's certainly not the only role that needs filled, especially now.
00:28:36
Speaker
You have thousands and thousands and thousands of leaders trying to find their way into this now. to figure out where they all fit. you know it's yeah God doesn't need every body part of the of the body of Christ to step up and be the left hand.
00:28:49
Speaker
so there's There's different avenues that we all need to look to be able to interject. And that idea of here my Lord send me needs to be couched with the idea that this this is not a call for glory.
00:29:01
Speaker
This is not a call for me to go to a limelight somewhere. This is a call for in this gigantic, massive, revival movement that the Holy Spirit is clearly orchestrating across our country, what part of it is going to impact me, my community, where I serve?
00:29:19
Speaker
How do I step into that and be as faithful as I possibly can with the avenue of this whole thing that God wants me to hold down? And that's it's been a lot more of where my thought has been in lately.
00:29:30
Speaker
It's a call to personal responsibility. yeah right not ah It's not a call to glory. It's a call to personal responsibility. What's my... task And I actually share this with our congregation on Sunday.
Fatherhood & Spiritual Leadership
00:29:44
Speaker
i said, what's your calling? Your calling might not be to go to college campuses and right do everything that Charlie did to convince people of the truth. It's fine if it is, but it's also fine if it's not. But what is your calling?
00:29:58
Speaker
yeah And God has disciples. He wants you to go disciple. And honestly, guys, as fathers, it's and I will just speak for myself.
00:30:09
Speaker
My desire is to touch thousands of lives and reach people and share the gospel and share the truth and bring them to the light and to freedom in Christ and all these things that I would love to be able to do in God's name and in his power and praise God if it happens.
00:30:26
Speaker
But I have to remember my first flock and my primary disciples yeah sit around my table every night. right so And the sacrifice that I am thinking about and you know, that Charlie made for his for for his ministry and for his work and for the, you know, saving the country.
00:30:43
Speaker
As he said, the sacrifices he made, the discipline he had was primarily for his family. Yeah. and and the way we should be living is primarily to lead our wife and care for our children, disciple them in the ways of the Lord.
00:31:00
Speaker
That is a primary responsibility. And we cannot lose sight of that. And I don't want any dads out there to think, oh, well, you know, I'm not a preacher or, I don't have an opportunity to you know share all these biblical, wonderful truths. I don't know the Bible very well.
00:31:15
Speaker
yeah If you got kids, you got a job. yeah but You got a colleague. And the Lord has has laid before you your opportunity to touch the future.
00:31:26
Speaker
And we've got to be we've got to be men of God yeah for their sake, if for no other sake. I want to throw out two names real quick. We've we've we've suggested other podcasts before, but somebody else that I, again, I've known about him. I've seen some of his stuff.
00:31:44
Speaker
And then just recently in the last 12 days have really gotten to know him a lot better through his work online is Nick Freitas. And if y'all have not seen his, what he, when he stepped in on the Charlie Kirk show, when he filled in stop, you guys seriously pause this podcast to come back to it. Go watch, go watch Nick Freitas hosting the Charlie Kirk show.
00:32:05
Speaker
Because he did just exactly what you're talking about, Jared. He gave five action steps that individuals could take. kind So I think if I can recall to memory, it was spiritual was number one, as it should be.
00:32:18
Speaker
That's the thing that Nick Freitas, I think, is a very solid Christian from yeah from what I understand, um which is why I had no problem recommending him. um I know it was professional, um physical, and mental.
00:32:32
Speaker
There was like educational. They all ended up with elk. But he had five action steps. And one of there's two points that I really want to drive here. One is that you don't have to ask anyone permission to do any of these things.
00:32:45
Speaker
You can start it today. And so that was number one. You don't have to have anybody go along with you. These are all individual personal responsibilities. That was number one. But number two, the point that he made, and he said, this is a point that Charlie drove home so much. and He believed it with every fiber of his was being is that if you forsake your family in order to go serve your country, then you will serve neither.
00:33:06
Speaker
And that is that is a huge thing because it's so easy. I mean, I think about people like Billy Graham. Billy Graham, when he was older, they asked him what he wished he could go back and do differently about his ministry. And he said, I would have spent more time at home.
00:33:23
Speaker
And this is the man that led stadium revivals. You know, that's what he was known for. And he would have spent more time at home. Not that he, you know, the Lord obviously worked through that man, but we have to remember that balance, just like you're talking about, Jared, that our flock is sitting around our dinner table every night.
00:33:42
Speaker
You know, the Bible says go make disciples. We can make disciples all right. We can physically make disciples. but yeah But... And it's so fun to make disciples, isn't it?
00:33:54
Speaker
I just love making more disciples. That's right. But... and But anyways, that's that. I just, yeah, I would just say that that was, you know, there's a lot of people that have asked, what do we do now? Yeah. Go watch that Nick Freitas show.
00:34:08
Speaker
Number two, obviously get in a good church. um You know, there's been a lot online, you know, about the opinions of, you know, did your church do, you know, say enough? Did they say too much? are they not? Whatever. There's been a lot of that.
00:34:23
Speaker
I will say, you know, get in a good church and, If nothing else, supplement with some good online churches. Online church does not replace the but the local body of Christ at all.
00:34:37
Speaker
But there are some banging sermons out there. And there's a church that I'll just throw out real quick. 1122, they're down in Florida and Georgia. those Those guys, they got something special going on. that that you know It's not often i can say that about a megachurch.
00:34:51
Speaker
But my goodness, the Lord is moving there. And ah they they do not compromise on the word. And I think that's why they're so successful. You know, nate um Jack Gibbs, I heard this week, he gave some really good advice about two people who are in a church where the pastor either ignored Charlie's assassination or, um you know, really kind of went halfway on it.
00:35:17
Speaker
want to share that with everybody. It was very good advice. He said, look, you should go and ask your pastor why he didn't talk about it. He said, if you were just really disappointed in it, go talk to him.
00:35:29
Speaker
Don't just assume things. Don't just, I'm going to leave in a huff, you know, because you didn't yeah you didn't sanctify Charlie Kirk. You know, ah go ask him why. He said, you know, there are some sincere ministers who either didn't know him very well or had hardly ever heard of Charlie Kirk.
00:35:50
Speaker
And so they they didn't know what to say about him. They didn't want to bring him up in the sermon. And, you know, there's other guys that maybe are just, unsure of how to address it. And so those guys maybe could be given a little bit of grace. And it might be that God is going to use you to go and challenge them to be more bold and courageous in the pulpit. And, you know, you're a channel of change and a a change maker, he said. But if your pastor in response to your questions gives an indication of cowardice or that he did it because he was afraid of what people would think,
00:36:25
Speaker
then you probably should shake the dust off your feet and and find another place to go yeah where you can really be fed, um really be fed the right kind of food in due season. and i thought that was really, really wise biblical advice about handel hand how to handle that situation. And if you're in a church where your pastor nailed it and spoke about it and you know gave the truth without without timidity, then bless God and thank him for it and you know get behind that guy and work together because those guys are few and far between, in my opinion.
00:36:59
Speaker
Yeah. I think, I think there was a little, I think there was a little church in South Georgia, Cornerstones something, right. That, that I talked about it pretty much for the whole service. Right. Yeah.
00:37:10
Speaker
I thought that you did a great job. Well, if you want to come on down to Cornerstone Fellowship, man, you get on, get on your horse and get here. don't want to deviate too much. from from the topic of the night, but it it goes along with that Something my pastor has always told our congregation is, if you ever have a problem with something, come talk to me, because I will never know how you feel unless you tell me.
00:37:32
Speaker
And I think that's that goes right along with what you were saying there, Jerry, because the enemy wants to divide the churches, and he's done a really good job at it. um But here we are.
00:37:44
Speaker
So and I was um pretty, not really critical of our church that Sunday, but I was just thinking about other churches and listening to sermons and seeing stuff online. And, you know, I kind of jumped to some conclusions pretty quick, you know, about certain pastors, but I had a conversation with one of my good friends who's a pastor.
00:38:07
Speaker
And i remembered that he is also just a normal human being, a man who, who just, he said he had every intention to go on up and pray and,
00:38:19
Speaker
Um, he, he addressed it on Wednesday night, the night that happened, they talked about it and prayed about it. And it's Sunday morning. He was going to pray about it. And he walked up there and he just prayed something else and he felt bad and he was gonna, um, he, he apologized for it and everything. So yeah, I was just reminded that sometimes, you know, we just got to give the pastors a little bit of grace because they, um, it's a hard job, as you know, Jerry, and um,
00:38:46
Speaker
I will say we' we've been talking about, you know, being bold and sharing the gospel. Our brother, Mark Blowers, who has joined us on previous episodes, he preached at a funeral on Saturday.
00:38:58
Speaker
And um as a young, younger 37 year old woman who died of cancer, mother of three and really, really sad.
Power of Christian Funerals
00:39:06
Speaker
um And the whole service was great.
00:39:09
Speaker
It was kind of, it reminded me of the memorial service for Charlie in in a sense, because the first pastor that got up, he, said a few words, shared the gospel and prayed. Then some sister-in-laws got up and to talk about her and they shared the gospel.
00:39:24
Speaker
And then the brother got up and he did. And then the husband got up and he did. And then another pastor, and then it got to Mark. And Mark had about a 50 minute sermon on on the gospel.
00:39:35
Speaker
And the the the woman said she she hates weak preachers. So Mark is like, I'm going to honor her and I am not going to be weak. And it was,
00:39:47
Speaker
it was it was a 50-minute conversation, mean, 50-minute speech. So it wasn't just like, you know, you're a sinner, you deserve hell, Jesus died. I mean, he went into depth. He hit on different worldviews and what they think.
00:39:59
Speaker
um Did a fantastic job. And he he he was speaking so ah passionately and with authority and truth that six people got up and left during it.
00:40:10
Speaker
And so, like, I don't know. It could have been that the sermon lasted a while and they had other plans, but it could have been that they just felt convicted and um was tired of hearing the truth, but I don't think that's going to be online. I wish it was. It was ah it was a great, it was a great service. Again, not to, not to deviate too far, but I have been blessed to have been, been in attendance to some powerful Christian funerals and, you know,
00:40:41
Speaker
just like ah the, the, the way that I feel about Charlie's memorial, I have felt that for personal friends after leaving their memorial services yeah and Christian funerals, man, they hit different. They're just, yeah when they say celebration of life, my goodness, it is a celebration because you know, they arrest him with Jesus, you know, everything from a baby that passed when she was three weeks old to, you know, family friend of ours that passed from ALS. I mean,
00:41:11
Speaker
Some of these funerals, man, they just, they can, you wouldn't think that you'd leave a funeral encouraged, but that's the power of the gospel.
00:41:22
Speaker
I think that memorial service, amen. I think that memorial service on Sunday was about the best one I've ever seen in my life. sure I mean, no offense to, I mean, I've conducted funerals.
00:41:35
Speaker
I've been to some great ones. For sure. And I mean, my own mother's funeral was ah amazing. But that that funeral, i it wasn't the funeral exactly. it was a memorial service. yeah But I'm telling you, I can't imagine it being any better. I was just overwhelmed by the power of God and the might of the Holy Spirit speaking through everybody that's talking over and over again. And it's just like, that's that's what i want.
00:42:07
Speaker
Guys, when I go, and i want you to see if you can get, you know, all the, all the same lineup to come talk, for talk about me at my funeral. Yeah.
00:42:18
Speaker
but I've done a lot of talking. Sorry. Go ahead. I've done too much. Go ahead. When I finally kick rocks, I don't, I don't even really care if you say my name, you know, that's, I'm not the most important one to be talked about.
00:42:30
Speaker
but let's say I'm with, I'm with you, Jared. I want the, uh, I want the sentiment. you know the The thing that was crazy to me was that there were so many peripheral people that are obviously not of the faith that were still feeling the Holy Spirit tugging in some way.
00:42:47
Speaker
One of my favorite ones was Elon Musk posting on X that you know parts of the Lord's Prayer, forgive us our deaths as we forgive those ah or forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us, with pictures of him shaking Trump's hand.
00:43:02
Speaker
if Some of their obvious spats that they've had in the past. And, you know, some of his interviews where he's on the floor and he was saying that Charlie, you know, was killed because he was, he was preaching the light and he was killed by the darkness.
00:43:15
Speaker
Like it's, it's peripheral truth like that. It's starting to permeate and just some very high and deep places that, that, I mean, this is why I get excited about the aftermath of of this weekend and everything that happened there. Like the work is just now starting.
00:43:32
Speaker
Yeah. um the The harvest is ready. There are souls hungry everywhere. Yeah. There are souls that are are lighting a blaze that are coming into the family of God, you know for the first time and need massive amounts of discipleship to make sure that the wolves on the edges don't capture that energy and turn it into something corrupt.
00:43:51
Speaker
But there are also many who need the gospel that have just not quite made it over that cusp yet, but they sense it. They see something. They hear something. They feel something that's very different.
Movement & Call to Action
00:44:02
Speaker
about this type of person, about a Charlie Kirk type of person, yeah and those that were inspired by his faith. white Why was there no looting? Why was there no burning down of of cities?
00:44:15
Speaker
Why was there no mass carnage anywhere of people picking up a righteous cause in his name? Why was his widow able to get up there and forgive on the national stage, the most evil person she's ever you know come in contact with in her life?
00:44:31
Speaker
Why is such a powerful question. And if there's not enough of us out there with the answers to be able to stand in you know in boldness and in open ways where those people have those why questions, even if they don't know how to ask them out loud, um if we're not in the right places, you know we're going to miss out.
00:44:50
Speaker
They're not going to miss out. God will send them somebody. God will send them the shepherds they need. But if we're not in that position saying, here, am my Lord, send me, we're going to miss out. We're going to miss in the opportunity to be able to share in the glory of of God's work.
00:45:03
Speaker
that's That's kind of where my heart is in all of this right now. It's like, okay, God, what should I build? How do i participate? what does this Where does the energy need to go? it it doesn't need to go into the void.
00:45:15
Speaker
It doesn't need to go into countless hours of social media sulking. It needs to go to hearts and people. It needs to go to places that are real. How do I get there? And that's that's kind of where my heart is now because I don't know the answers to all of those necessarily yet my own life and how that particularly applies.
00:45:31
Speaker
And that's where the accountability piece is such a crucial part right now. That fire, we can't let that die in each other. If am seeing in you guys, you know, a passion for work, a passion for action, a passion to be in front of something that's different from where you're at now to be able to participate in a bigger way, then it's on me to make sure that this doesn't become, you know, ah two weeks and then it's over back to the normal. Everything's the same as before.
00:45:59
Speaker
ah so And it's up to you guys to do the same for me, to make sure that whatever passion I'm throwing out tonight, ah where my heart really, really wants to get involved with something, whatever that is, whether that's building something or coming alongside me something, I don't even know know yet where I'm supposed to interact.
00:46:16
Speaker
But if I just allow that to die and I never find a way into satisfying that curiosity, I don't pray enough through it. I don't discern God's word through it. I don't you know get involved enough in whatever the opportunities are, then I need you guys to rip me apart for that. yeah the The Lord deserves better of me.
00:46:36
Speaker
I was reading last night in my family devotions with my kids in in Joshua, I think it was chapter 18, where they're they're parsing out the promised land. And the people, the the Canaanite armies are all vanquished.
00:46:49
Speaker
They don't have to worry about mass ridiculous combat anymore. Now they just have to parse out the land. And there's seven tribes that have not claimed any land. There's seven groups that have not, ah just comfortable.
00:47:03
Speaker
They're comfortable living with everybody else. they They're comfortable where they're at. It's promise enough. And Joshua gets after him is like, what are you guys doing? Like the armies are defeated. Go stake out some territory.
00:47:14
Speaker
And I put it to my kids. like, why would they not go claim the land? And and it's it's not recorded in scripture. So I can't say this definitively one way or the other. But I would imagine in their hearts it's way easier to settle in the victories of others than it is to go out and build your own city, to go out and build you know the the new frontier that you need to build. Because they weren't going in and taking over cities that had been conquered.
00:47:35
Speaker
They were burning them to the ground. they They had to go in and build their own places. They had to build their own cities, build their own um you know squares and and government and everything else to be able to ah ah start their civilization.
00:47:51
Speaker
And that's hard. you know, you can do that or you can rest in the victory of others and let everybody else do it. And that's, it was really convicting to me last night that there's, there are things promised to the church of God and we're seeing the Holy Spirit of God moving across this country in ways I've never seen in my entire life.
00:48:07
Speaker
And it's, that's, that's a shared experience across Christian brothers of many different types of Christian backgrounds that are all saying kind of that same thing. This is different. Something's new here.
00:48:20
Speaker
This is um an unbelievably different experience. So I don't want to sit in the shadows of other people that have already built something i've already done their thing. I want to participate in what God has promised to this country.
00:48:32
Speaker
And that is if we, you know, if we repent, if we turn from our wicked ways, that God will heal our land. That's, I think we're in that cusp now of that repentance, of that turning back and turning away and rejecting, you know, the softness of liberal Christianity and the, the,
00:48:52
Speaker
essentially the lie of it all. It's not the gospel. It's not, it's all feel good. Isn't it? It's all, you know, something that was the gospel replaced with something that's almost the gospel, but definitely not.
00:49:03
Speaker
And it's, ah there's no stomach for it anymore for people that have seen fruit of it. And that's, I think that is a remarkable place for us to all be, but just to, to let this moment die would be the absolute worst tragedy,
00:49:17
Speaker
oh of of what's happening here. if if If this great sacrifice from this great man turns into a wonderful month of, you know, really deep feelings, deep emotional charge and, and great insights for brothers, you know, sharing all over the world and all over the country, especially on how they thought about this man and work he did in the ministry. He did.
00:49:41
Speaker
And then two months comes by and everything's back to the way it was. What a tragedy. What a waste. ah we have ah we have a moment to join in the work of God here that I've never seen before in my life.
00:49:54
Speaker
I don't know exactly how I'm supposed to do it, but I'm looking and I'm praying for it every day because I'm i'm i'm in that here my Lord send me. I don't know where and I don't know what, but I want to do something. Amen.
00:50:05
Speaker
Yeah, the Christian life was meant for more than just making it to heaven. Yes. You know what, Tony? I think that um what you're saying really resonates with me. And I i think that God is sending the fire into the church and it is lighting a flame.
00:50:26
Speaker
It's doing two things. It's lighting up the sincere believers with ah a righteous energy and a holy fire to proclaim Christ to the world.
00:50:38
Speaker
And it is purging those who are fake Christians who are, yeah you know, They're Cinos. They're Christians in name only. They're not really living out.
00:50:51
Speaker
you know They're not rhinos. They're Sinos or Kinos. I don't know how to say it. Kinos. Anyway, but they they are they are really not truly following Jesus. They're serving self.
00:51:04
Speaker
They're worshiping me. They're worshiping themselves and what they want to accomplish and the a grandness of of being a church leader or an elder or whatever, that fire is purging away that chaff.
00:51:19
Speaker
And it is also, the Lord is calling in, calling in people, people that have been rejecting God or have been never been to church or have always felt like Christians were all this big pile of hypocrites only interested in your money.
00:51:34
Speaker
All of those people are now going, wait a minute. The real Jesus is probably something more like what Charlie Kirk had. And maybe I need to think about this because they're there. It's very obvious that God is at work.
00:51:47
Speaker
And I think that God is calling in, you know, from the highways and byways into the marriage supper of the lamb, calling in those people. And I think he's also casting out the the children of the kingdom who are not truly the children of the kingdom. They think they are.
00:52:05
Speaker
But, yeah you know, they are God is doing a a dividing. water And Jesus said, well, this is like this is like exactly the scripture passage that I ah I preach from on Sunday. And it's ah Luke chapter 12, I think. And I'll try to look that up.
00:52:28
Speaker
But essentially, ah Jesus this says, I came to bring fire in the earth. He said, if you think I came to bring peace, you're wrong. I did not come to bring peace in the earth.
00:52:40
Speaker
I came to bring division. He said, yeah you know, families are going to be fighting against each other, father against brother. It's going to be this dividing that happening that happens.
00:52:51
Speaker
Why? Because those that choose to be with Christ shall be hated by the world. And there's this division that comes when we choose to follow Christ.
00:53:03
Speaker
And ah even though he brings peace inwardly, there is not peace on the outside that we can ever ah be guaranteed. But anyway, that's just some of the thoughts that you were spurring in me.
00:53:17
Speaker
ah And I think just to bounce off that too, I know I'm not the first to give this analogy, but you bring up how the the real Christians are burning with a flame that is brighter than ever before.
00:53:29
Speaker
If you are not joined with the other sticks, in that fire, you will burn out. And again, I know I'm not the first to give that analogy, but there is so much truth. If you pull a single log or a single stick out of a fire and you set it to the side, it's gonna burn for a little bit and then it's going to die.
Community & Church Methodologies
00:53:46
Speaker
And so I know there are a lot of people specifically in, yeah I'm sure it's all around, but I know in a lot of rural settings will say, well I worship the Lord in the in the tree stand. I worship the Lord out on my John boat.
00:53:58
Speaker
And I'm not saying you can't worship the Lord when you're out, you know, doing what you do, we should worship the Lord every day. But if you are, you are separated from community, if you are isolated, that is a, that is a recipe for your, your faith growing cold.
00:54:13
Speaker
yeah And that's hard. That's a hard thing to swallow. if you've been, if if you don't like people and if you're not a super outgoing person, or if you're just somebody that has the gift of perception, it can see fluff and can see crap, you know,
00:54:31
Speaker
And unfortunately, there's a lot of fluff and crap out and in some of the churches. But um kind of like what Matt was saying, everybody's human. And that is, there is a humility that it takes to follow the Lord. And part of that is learning to work with your fellow believers and your brothers and sisters as we all have our issues.
00:54:54
Speaker
And willing to say, you know what, there are things that I don't like about you know, organized religion, or there are things that i don't like about this denomination, I'm promising, man, I have been to so many churches that I've helped with. I've been a part of a lot of plants. I have been in mega churches. have been in living room churches.
00:55:14
Speaker
I've seen the whole spectrum, and there is not one that is perfect. And if I can encourage anyone, you know, to do one thing, man, just get involved with a good church that puts a high priority on community.
00:55:26
Speaker
That will change your life. If you get into a good church with with a good value and community, it will ruin, it'll ruin church for you. It really will. you You can't go back to just showing up, sneaking into the back row through a sermon and getting, getting out quick, man, you get involved in a community that loves the Lord and loves each other. That will, it will ruin you.
00:55:48
Speaker
It's, it's, it's sad and, it and, and awesome at the same time. So we've talked about how, you know the gospel was shared with hundreds of millions of people over these last two weeks. And, I'm sure y'all seen some some tweets and stuff, and people are like, um you know, Charlie chaired the gospel more than all the um the churches that had summer at the movies, um you know, themes, or the churches with the roller coasters and the and the on the stage and like all kind of junk like that. And and there's just so many um shallow churches, weak yeah pastors, like you were saying, you kind of talk about that, Nate, like it's not, well, good
00:56:27
Speaker
there's There's good churches out there, and there's good pastors. And I will ah want to say with that, because wait Matt, you and I have talked about that before, and you know the the movies thing is is is one thing.
00:56:38
Speaker
But I will say my tune has changed a little bit on large churches and methodology. I think of a church as proclaiming the gospel. Some of it can be flashy. there's there's There's just so many pastors out there that I really respect that have all those elements that we talk about. the fog and the lights and the sound systems, and they are reaching an audience that the little Baptist church with a grand piano and a choir is not going to reach.
00:57:07
Speaker
And the gospel is for those people too. And ah think, you know, there are some churches that, you know, it's, it's easy to to throw up a little clip of them kicking the Bible like a football. I've seen that one going around. That's, that's certainly irreverent, but yeah,
00:57:23
Speaker
ah you know Again, i think for me, a conviction that I've had, and this comes out of just some history of some stuff that we've gone through with, you know, I hate the term church hurt, but we have been through some things that probably would be justified church hurt.
00:57:39
Speaker
And all of it stems, man, from people, congregations feeling like they are better than the congregation down the road. And that is, that attitude has become the most putrid thing to me.
00:57:52
Speaker
Because when Christ comes back, he is not going to look at us and say, congratulations, I'm so proud of you. You made sure the world knew that you were different from the church that drinks wine for communion and you guys drink grape juice. or youre You play rock music and you play the piano.
00:58:08
Speaker
He is going to look at us and say, why did you not link arms with your brothers and sisters in Christ and go reach a dying world? That is what he is looking for. And so for me, that is I think my tune has changed a lot on methodology.
00:58:21
Speaker
to the point where there are things that I might not prefer in a church service, but if you are preaching the gospel and the Lord is reaching people and you are seeing people come genuinely to the faith, man, who am I to, to, to criticize what you're doing, man? So that's, I know Matt, you and I have had a lot of conversations about that kind of stuff, but I just, I want to clarify that because my, I've almost had to repent of that a little bit because I haven't gotten caught up in that. Oh, I would never do that because, you know, that's that's just not, you know, that's just seeker friendly or that's just watered down.
00:59:00
Speaker
You know, while there are some things that are probably a little too far, we can all admit that, you know, just because a church does some big stuff and has a higher budget, they're reaching a different audience.
00:59:11
Speaker
So. I think. i think Can you all imagine real quick? i just want to say something. this Yeah, go ahead. Very, very lighthearted, but. um Can y'all just imagine that the scene that you have this church and it's dark and you hear like an electric guitar and you see lights flash and smoke and then out jumps Jared dressed up like like a red tie.
00:59:35
Speaker
yeah when I did, I come out like this. i come out going, oh, my goodness. What have I gotten myself into? Go ahead, Tony.
00:59:47
Speaker
I think it'd be cool, Jared. if don't Don't do it, Jared. It might be cool. I don't know. Nathan's kind of kind of grown on me on this idea. there's There's an enormous amount of things that just don't matter when it comes to the way we set up and organize our church.
01:00:03
Speaker
However, I think some of the things that have killed the church in its relevancy over the last several decades is the fact that those particular things that are effective at drawing people or are effective at creating a crowd have been mostly useless things.
01:00:21
Speaker
It's all been sugar and cake. And the world has lost its ability to be able to actually take in the meat of the word of God. And that's one of the reasons why what Charlie did resonated so much with young people, especially young Christians, is he was not afraid to take the gospel to its natural conclusion on an ordered society.
01:00:44
Speaker
If you are of a Christian faith, if you hold to Christian principles, do you believe what God says about life, what God says about one another, what God says about, you know, even civil society?
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Speaker
What does that mean? How do you take that into your life and into your own belief structure, your worldview and everything else? And a lot of that stuff is just missing. You can't survive on the frosting alone.
01:01:07
Speaker
I'm not saying the frosting is bad, but you'll kill yourself if that's your only
Charlie's Ongoing Legacy & Gospel Spread
01:01:11
Speaker
diet. And that's what happened to the church. That's why what's going on now is is so meaningful to so many people. And it's it's why it's meaningful to all of us here as we all desperately want ministry that matters, that's meaningful, that's changing lives, that's helping people become leaders, become good fathers, become good citizens, because all those things are in concert with being a good Christian and how a good Christian helps preserve the world that God puts them in.
01:01:42
Speaker
And that's, That's meaningful. And that's that's something that's just not been there for so long. And a lot of young people, especially, they don't need another club. They don't need another place that it goes and strokes ego and helps them feel good about whatever sin they're struggling with in their life. They need a place where they help them to conquer it.
01:02:00
Speaker
They need a place that confronts them. And they want that. And that that is how you know, I think, that the Holy Spirit is really sparking revival here. It's not about growing church attendance.
01:02:10
Speaker
It's about growing church knowledge. about growing depth of faith and depth of comprehension of the work and the will of God. And that is everywhere around this whole particular event.
01:02:21
Speaker
And it's it's a beautiful thing. Yeah, you can you can throw in a fog machine. You can throw in a guitarist. Even at the at the funeral, there one of the guys on the on the stage had his little man cleavage hanging out the entire time.
01:02:34
Speaker
That's repulsive to me. I think that's a stupid distraction. i don't It didn't matter. It had nothing to do with me. It had to do is with the the gospel in and the worship that was being promulgated throughout 100 million views of people being able to to to take that, tie themselves into a deep gospel and ah an unabashed gospel.
01:02:57
Speaker
And the entire work and ministry that Charlie led to be able to help people understand how does this maturely behave in your life if you believe these foundational things. it's It's wonderful discipleship across the board.
01:03:09
Speaker
what people really desperately need right now. If enough men like us rise up to the moment, this will be an un unforgettable turning point in the country for the growth of the church.
01:03:22
Speaker
Absolutely. And, you know, Charlie aptly named his, I think it was Providential that he named his yeah yeah ah his organization Turning Point USA because this very well could be a major turning point in the history of our nation and therefore in the history of the world this moment.
01:03:47
Speaker
But guys, this has been some really great thoughts. Nate, give us some final thoughts and we'll just go around and give you give your final thoughts here. Yeah. um Well, I got one final thought.
01:04:01
Speaker
um I would say just. We've talked about, man, I hope this thing lasts. I hope it keeps going. The sheer fact alone that one man has now his legacy and his mission and his work is being talked about by four individuals from Virginia and Georgia and whatever little audience we have.
01:04:25
Speaker
the the The fact that he was obedient to preach the gospel is now being talked about by us. And if our message reaches one person or if his inspiration is inspiring me to reach that one coworker, then, i mean, my goodness,
01:04:40
Speaker
what we We will well never know the the the impact of his legacy here on earth. that's I heard a pastor say at one time, I forget what podcast was listening to, but they were like, if you would if you could know when you get to heaven, if you could find out one statistic about yourself, you only get one. you know It can be like, how many how many glasses of water did I drink in my life? Or how many you know how many times did I, you know, whatever.
01:05:07
Speaker
One guy said, I would like to know how many pounds of weight I've lifted, you know, collectively, you know, it would be everything from an iPhone to like whatever, a hundred bazillion. But one guy said, I want to know how many people I reached for the gospel.
01:05:20
Speaker
And that's something and like the the impact that one person getting saved and preaching the gospel, making more disciples, the the way that trickles down throughout generations, you know, in in a nobody, you know, a nobody.
01:05:37
Speaker
can have a profound effect on generations to come. And one man, one man's obedience led to over 100 million people, plain as day, getting to hear the gospel for themselves.
01:05:52
Speaker
You could not deny what you have heard. ah it was It was spoken and it was heard. And man, what an impact. It's awesome.
01:06:07
Speaker
yeah That's awesome. Tony, ah final thoughts.
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Speaker
and Nobody's coming to pick up Charlie's microphone. It doesn't belong in any other hands. The work that is ahead is very different and very specific. ah You, wherever you're at, there's a call coming at you right now.
01:06:27
Speaker
ah You know, whether you're a believer and you're thick in your faith and you've you you've got a mature edge to you, you understand the gravity of the way things are, get around people that don't.
01:06:41
Speaker
Be in places where that can be valuable. you it Does you no good to sit in your wisdom? You need to share the body that's meant to have you involved. you know Nate, you talked about being in community. You need community in your own life for your own battle, but community needs you too.
01:07:00
Speaker
Your experience, um your discernment. If there's things that yeah know you've been through in your life that are going to help ah the vast fields that are out there be able to understand how to relate to the gospel better through you.
01:07:14
Speaker
Be in front of that. Be where that is. Whether that's in your church, in your workspace, in some other capacity in your community, you don't have to pick up the whole microphone. You're not going to sit there and start talking to you know millions of people or large college campuses.
01:07:30
Speaker
That's not the next step. The next step is much closer to home for you. Find the practical thing. But get involved. if you're all If you're not of that mature heart and you're you're very confused about all of this, you're still trying to figure out your way forward.
01:07:45
Speaker
The Holy Spirit is after every one of you. The Holy Spirit deeply desires for you to be able to see something here to challenge your worldview, to challenge everything that you've been able to use to define knowledge for your life.
01:07:59
Speaker
There's something bigger. You can tell you've missed something. You can tell that you don't get this. Something doesn't make sense. But yet somehow for millions of people, this is an inspiration. This is a life altering event. And they never even knew the man.
01:08:13
Speaker
There's something missing. Keep searching. Keep going. God is looking for you. You need to sit and listen. And that for those that seek the Lord, they find him every time. When he calls his sheep, his sheep hear his voice.
01:08:27
Speaker
Keep searching. God desires your heart. And this is a moment where he's trying to make it abundantly clear if you seek him. you'll find him.
01:08:37
Speaker
Amen. Amen. Matt? Yeah, a couple things real quick. Like a day or two after the his assassination, I was thinking like, you know, I hope we can see some some of the benefits of this. You know, ah sometimes it's like we don't know why things happen. We may not ever know in this lifetime.
01:08:54
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You know, so I'm like praying that we would
Forgiveness & Faith Discussions with Children
01:08:56
Speaker
see something. Well, we're seeing something already, and it is encouraging, and that's what we've been talking about this whole time, and and so I'm just excited to to see what what happens next. But um just another practical thing, if there's some fathers listening that that haven't talked with their kids about it, I would say do it.
01:09:17
Speaker
And if they haven't if they haven't heard Erica Kirk's um message yesterday on forgiveness, I think that's very important to play for your kids as well. we um My wife did that today for the kids and we talked about during our little devotion tonight and um from six years old up to 13 year old, they were just blown away, like at the forgiveness, you know?
01:09:39
Speaker
And so, you know, like we've said, we've got to do something right. Um, our call and our call as fathers, obviously is our, is our household. And so, and our kids, so, um, don't be afraid to talk to them and share the gospel with them every day.
01:09:57
Speaker
And they may be, uh, another person like Charlie Kirk one day, you never know. That's right. You really don't. These are great thoughts, guys.
01:10:07
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i think that the ability to forgive incredible hurts is a divine thing. And I'm just so inspired by her ability in that moment.
01:10:21
Speaker
And it wasn't her. It was the Lord Jesus giving her the grace and the strength. And you can see it all over her face. strength of God empowering her to forgive. And so I think that's a good reminder to all of us.
01:10:34
Speaker
You know, I've never had a gunman shoot down my spouse. That that would be an incredible incredibly deep pain. I've had other pains. yeah I've had other people i had people do hurtful things to me.
01:10:46
Speaker
And yet um she was able to forgive and the power of the Lord. And so that's a good reminder that we need to be able to forgive those that have hurt us. even Even church hurt, Nate.
01:10:58
Speaker
You know, you've to forgive even those, right? Hey, I have. Oh, I know you have. Yeah. I'm sure. Well, guys, it's been a great time talking with you. To all of you listeners listeners out there, um however many you are, all 20 of you, we're sure grateful what you're out there.
01:11:17
Speaker
Yeah. We're growing. We're growing. but so ah But no, we really are grateful for you, and we sure would love to hear from you. and I mean, at this point, you know you would get a lot of attention. You might get an entire podcast on your questions.
01:11:30
Speaker
If you send a question to us. So if you like attention, send us an email. ah The email address is, we got a new one here, guys.
01:11:43
Speaker
Dads at preacher dad.com. That's D-A-D-S at preacher dad.com. And we would love to get your questions or comments about the show.
01:11:57
Speaker
And, you know, what Charlie has meant to you We would sure love to hear about that too. So please feel free to email us. And you can also go to jaredhinton.com or preacherdad.com to find out more ah about what we're doing here. So guys, I appreciate all of you and appreciate this time together.
01:12:16
Speaker
And I think that we will continue holding one another accountable in the future to continue to be the men of God that we are called to be. So dad, mom, whoever you are out there,
01:12:29
Speaker
God is calling you to follow him. And so do it faithfully. The Lord doesn't say that we have to lead thousands of people to him to be doing a good job. he just said we need to be faithful with what we have.
01:12:43
Speaker
So what you've been called to be faithful. That's the key. So God bless you. We will see you next time on Fatherhood Friday. Thanks a lot, everybody. Bye-bye. Bye, y'all. Bye.