The Reason Behind Charlie Kirk's Murder

The sad news of the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk shed light on the elephant in the world’s living room. It exposed society’s underlying hatred of anything good, especially true Christians. Let’s take a realistic look at the reason behind the hate and what the Christian response should be.

Show Notes: 

Link to article: The World Will Hate You.

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Transcript

Concerning The Times: Howard Green (00:00.45)
Hello Congresswoman, will you apologize for resharing a video right after Charlie Kirk's assassination called him a terrorist? Will you apologize, Congresswoman?

Concerning The Times: Howard Green (00:19.534)
Welcome to Concerned at the Times, I'm Howard Green. Good to be with you again this week as we dive into a new podcast and video. And what I want to talk about today is what I would call the big elephant in the world's living room right now. And that is the hatred of Christians and really the hatred, widespread hatred of anything good. And that was epitomized in the last week or so with the terrible and evil assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Charlie Kirk was a Christian, loved the Lord and spoke a lot on college campuses, other public venues about some things that were rather controversial. But he spoke, I believe the record will show, scripturally, spoke with the love of Jesus as the end game and spoke the truth. Having said that, we, as I said, we have a big elephant in this world's living room. And it is the fact that if you speak the truth, if you say things that people don't like, people are going to come after you.

That's just the way things are now. So what we're gonna talk about today is society's hatred for anything good and the fact that the world will hate us as believers. As Christians, the world, Jesus made it very clear, we're gonna read that in a little bit, that the world will hate us. And when I say the world, I don't mean everyone in the world, I don't mean the world system, I mean, but there is a certain segment, a large segment of this population that do hate anything good, especially true Christians.

We're going to hear a lot in the coming weeks about the exchange of ideas and free discourse, free speech, and even agreeing to disagree. a lot of talk about that. And I'm, think those are good conversations, but at the end of the day, they sort of skim over the real situation, what we would call the elephant in the living room, the hatred of anything good and believers. And that comes from the utter depravity of the human heart. It really does. And this hatred,

against Christians and this vitriol is not anything new. mean, we can go, we've got 20 centuries of this, right? We've got 20 centuries of hatred of true Christians. You can go to the Fox's Book of Martyrs. And if you've never read that, I suggest you do because that is a very poignant lesson on the price that's been paid for the gospel of Jesus over the centuries, especially at the beginning. And you think about this hatred. mean, we know it, we know it. mean, history will tell you it's existed since

Concerning The Times: Howard Green (02:44.527)
the time of Jesus, when he had his ministry on the earth and the early church, the first century church and the early Christians, wow, did they deal with intense hate and intense persecution, right? It has to do with the condition of the human heart. Jesus explained it, he explained it very well in John 15, 18 through 25, Jesus warned about the world's hatred towards his followers and exactly why they would hate us. Let me read this to you real quick.

It's out of John 15, 18, and we'll go actually to verse 21 here today. So if the world hates you, know that it has hated me first. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is no greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. And then there we have it right there from the mouth of Jesus explaining exactly

why the world hates you, why the world hates me, why the world hates true Christians. Here we are 20 centuries later, 20 centuries later after Jesus said this, and the hatred of the world is only increasing. And we saw this in vivid detail last week with the evil, terrible assassination of Charlie Kirk. Never in history have we had the opportunity to communicate more, to share ideals with other people.

and to feel connected. I mean, it's amazing to me. I mean, you think about it now, we have accumulated knowledge and terabytes of information at our fingertips. I mean, I was gonna grab my phone, I don't have my phone with me, but you know what I mean. I mean, with our smartphones, with our computers, all these things, we have the ability to be so interconnected and share ideas with other people and connect with other people. It's amazing. And the wealth of knowledge that we have is amazing.

The opportunity to share our thoughts and ideas and beliefs with the masses, it's arrived, right? And we can go on social media, we can have a podcast or a YouTube video or a rumble, whatever, like we have today. And we can share our ideas with the world and our thoughts with the world and even open up personally with the world. Those can be very good things. But here's the thing, with this openness and this ability to communicate with the world and with one another comes the unmasking of the wicked human heart.

Concerning The Times: Howard Green (05:11.459)
Let me explain. You think about it, friends, just a few years ago, when I say a few years ago, I'm talking maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago, and it's definitely went down, but there was a certain level of, how do I put it, civility, a certain level of human kindness, a certain level of decorum that was expected in both public settings and in private settings. And you think about it, you would go out to certain places, in certain settings, be in meetings, be in groups, be in the public square, be in stores, and you were expecting to behave yourself.

But there were a certain level of decorum and human kindness that was expected. And I got to tell you, you know this, you don't have to be a Christian to know this. And then just the past 10 years, 15 years, and certainly in the last five years, the level of anger and the level of, let's call it what it is, invitrile directed at other people has reached a crescendo now. You think about it, just a couple of years ago,

the person that couldn't stand you on the internet and typing back in the keyboard jockey and I hate you and you're, you know, you're a loser and many other terrible things and terrible words. don't want to repeat here on this, on this podcast, this Christian podcast and video, they would say it behind a screen. There was a certain level of anonymity. were anonymous, but here we are now. And the guy that was in the person that was the evil keyboard jockeys yelling back vitriolic things at you on the internet is now the person out there in the public square.

in your face in the restaurants, on the street, in the marketplace, in the school, in the classroom, in the college campus, on the streets. It's amazing now that we used to be afraid to talk to people like that, especially out in the open. And now we just, this is how I am. I'm just going to speak my truth. I'm going to tell you how it is. Nothing wrong with exchanging your ideas. Nothing wrong with agreeing to disagree. But the level of hate and vitriol directed at other people that don't agree with us is reaching epidemic levels now.

Things that would never be said before. I'll call it what is. Jesus said it because lawlessness is increasing, the love of many will grow cold. And here we are friends, we've arrived, right? What I wanna do before we go any further, I wanna give you a few examples of this public hatred or this public ugliness on display. So I'll join you on the other side.

Concerning The Times: Howard Green (07:39.619)
I do but really Kirk is definitely not the morals I support. I support we just talk to love your neighbor.

Concerning The Times: Howard Green (07:59.953)
You don't have to love yourself. You're not loving your name. just not loving yourself. People ask you guys for broken violence.

Concerning The Times: Howard Green (08:12.887)
Okay, you can see by what you heard if you're listening to my podcast or what you saw by video, I mean, it's out there. We've arrived. This level of, if you disagree with me, I'm gonna get in your face. I'm gonna be ugly. We're here now. This total depravity of the human heart. Point is, all the talk. You think about it, how things have changed. All the talk from the so-called tolerant people, the people of tolerance. All the talk about love is love and follow this and do that.

You know, let others be and just choose kindness and be civil and all the pontificating and all the all the platitudes. They mean nothing because ironically some of the most people that are the most vocal about being tolerant are the least tolerant people of all. And especially when it comes to Christians, believers in Jesus Christ, you can mark my words. I say you heard it right here and you know it. A lot of you have experienced that, right? We don't hate them. We love them. They're not an enemy to crush.

There's someone to pray for because they have an enemy of their soul. But let's continue. All this talk about love and tolerance and kindness is just that it's talk. Because we used to be able to agree to disagree, right? And now there was a time recently when disagreeing will get you canceled. And now I fear the time is here when disagreeing just might get you killed. I think it's easy for people who are not conservative, and I know not everybody at this table is a conservative, that Charlie Kirk was murdered because he talked about God.

family, country. Those are views that people like Scott and I hold dearly. If Charlie Kirk, a private citizen, can be targeted for those views, it makes us all feel like we have a target on our back. So it's easy for people who have constant security, who are in high places and don't think they're ever going to be targeted to speak like this. But to the average conservative like myself, this is a scary time because one of our own was taken out. That's fact. Again, we saw it last week or a week or so ago with the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

But let's continue. Humanity is in a sad state, pardon me, is in a sad state when you might be beat up, you might be yelled at, you might be canceled, you might be chased for buying a certain car, for voting a certain way, or speaking the truth. They can, namely of the gospel. Used to get you canceled, now might get you killed. We're in a bad place. Jesus said, because lawlessness will increase, I'm gonna repeat this again, the love of many.

Concerning The Times: Howard Green (10:37.295)
And not just of Christians growing cold and turning away from the gospel and away from Jesus Christ. But I'm talking about even this just general human love, human for human, know, it might get you killed. The love of many will grow cold. I mean, there was a day when if you would see a woman get sexually assaulted on a subway or in a train car or somebody getting beat up, you would intervene. You would go help because that's another human being. How dare you touch them? You know, especially men. I mean, you get in there and you deal with that, right?

But now we're a time when everybody does this and picks up their phone. I don't have my phone again, but if you're listening to my podcast, I'm pretending I'm holding my phone. They would pick up their phone and they would film. Have we gotten to that point? Not totally, but sweepingly by and large when people won't step in to help and just this, this general love, this, this general human kindness, I'll call it. It's missing. Why is this? Because Satan has

blinded the eyes of those who are perishing or refuse to believe the truth. When people are looked at now like cattle and looked at now like, like just numbers and just a, just another person to get through and push through and people have lost their importance instead of being flesh and blood. They're just an object to be removed. Somebody to get out of your way. Friends, and I'm not speaking to Christians, I'm speaking collectively in the world. We're in a bad place. When someone can disagree with someone else, they don't agree with

I don't think men can be women and women can be men, Charlie Kirk said, right? I don't agree with this. I agree the Bible's true. I agree that Jesus is the only way and somebody gets so angry with him, they premeditate, they go through the motions, they get everything ready and they pick up a rifle, go to a college campus and put a bullet in him and destroy him, wipe him out because of disagreement.

Nothing to do with agreeing to disagree. has everything to do with hate. I can't stand you. I'm gonna kill you and take you out. It's always been bad, but here we are now in this quote unquote civilized world with all of our accumulated wisdom and knowledge and advancements with AI, everything. Think about how far we've come, right? But the human heart is tracking lower and lower and lower and lower. And now our enemies are people to hate and destroy.

Concerning The Times: Howard Green (13:02.125)
It's a terrible place. It's a terrible place when, when even in this, even in our fair country, even in the United States, it's getting so bad. People are afraid to give their opinions and speak the truth with friends. That leads me to something else. Let me say one more thing before we go any further. People actually celebrating his murder. Glad they did it. Another one bites the dust. What you were promoting is the way you were taken out. Good for him. Glad to see him gone. And then you got the Charlotte.

murder of that young Ukrainian girl on the public transit there in Charlotte, North Carolina. People painting murals of this young lady and in her memory, pardon me, I forget her name now, just seemed like just a nice young lady coming back from working at a pizza restaurant and murdered in cold blood. Why? Just because she was there. It's demonic, it's hatred. And people are taking her mural now, covering it up and painting.

picture of this monster that murdered her What are we thinking collectively society things getting bad friends? I know it's not everywhere but this level of vitriol and violence and hate and anger and Well, what are the Bible saying? I think it's in I'm gonna flip over to it now, but I believe it's an Isaiah 520. What are those people? They call good evil and evil good that take light for darkness and darkness for light friends. We've arrived

We have definitely arrived. So as Christians, how do we respond? Philippians 1.28, I'll read this to you real quick. And here's what Paul said. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or I'm absent, I may hear that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel and not frightened in anything.

by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation in that from God. And also without flipping over to that, uh, in, in this, uh, Acts chapter four, we know that when the apostles were threatened and beat and told not to preach or speak in that name, in the name of Jesus anymore, they didn't go home and pray for a hedge of protection. They didn't go home and pray that the world would start liking them. They didn't pray for a

Concerning The Times: Howard Green (15:25.704)
Just a wonderful discourse and that we can all sing kumbaya get together the apostles prayed for boldness And friends, I know this because the scripture will back me up that the boldness comes from love of Jesus and His glory and love for other people and from the Holy Spirit that'll make you bold God gives the boldness and of ourselves. We don't have it God will give you the boldness to go out and speak the truth and do it in love We're gonna need more and more of that as the time comes

As society gets darker and darker, and let me tell you it will, this is just the beginning, we're gonna need boldness. We're gonna need boldness from the Holy Spirit to go out and speak the truth and not be afraid of our enemies. How do we respond to people that get in your grill, get in your face, make threats, they're evil, and that's a lot of people in this world, friends. How do we respond? Well, like I said before, Peter said, speak to them, reason with them in the scriptures, do it with gentleness and respect, but also to love your enemies. I'm gonna say something very hard here.

And it's interesting, I was talking to my wife, Erica, about this earlier today. definitely pray for Charlie Kirk's family, pray for Erica Kirk, pray for their little ones, pray for his mom and dad, pray for everyone involved that was close to this, this wonderful young man who loved Jesus, by the way, pray for them. But I'm also gonna tell you something hard, but it's very scriptural. Jesus said to pray for your enemies, love your enemies and pray for them, pray for those who, people that are

ugly to us that when you hurt, once you silence, once you dead, pray for them. Pray that the Lord will change their heart, change their mind, save them before it's too late, that their eyes will be open, the scales will fall off. A lot of people aren't saying that, but I'm saying it because it's in this word, not my words, but the words of the Lord. Pray for enemies. Pray for that evil young man in prison right now. Pray that he'll have a change of heart and a change of mind and repent.

Yes, pay for his crime, you better believe it. Suffer the consequences, absolutely. But pray that his soul will be saved. Here's the clincher. That's what Charlie would do. That's what Charlie would do. He would say, pray for your enemies. Why would he do it? Because he followed Jesus. These are hard things. But resist the urge, and I've seen it a lot in just the last week and a half, all over the place on the internet and social media, different places online. Resist the urge to.

Concerning The Times: Howard Green (17:50.424)
Take the fight back to them. We're gonna meet force with force and we're gonna get in their faces. Friends, listen, this world is not our home. You render to Caesar with Caesar's, you vote your conscience, you go out there and do what you have to do. But at the end of the day, the people that did this and the people that wanna do things like this, yes, they're our enemy, but they have a greater enemy and it's Satan. He wants to drag them straight to hell.

That's a fact. That's the way it is. Pray for your enemies. Don't get in their face. Don't get in their grill. Don't might force with force. Don't amp up and ammo up and I'm going to do this and I'm going to get that. That is not the way true Christians respond. Cultural Christians, over politicized Christians, cultural Christians, but true Christians will pray for enemies. Yeah. You be wise as serpents, harmless as doves. Don't put yourself in weird situations. Don't go out there looking for a fight or itching for trouble.

But sometimes speaking the truth and being a kind Christian and being full of the Holy Spirit will get you in places even that you don't want to be in. Just by being a peaceable Christian, loving Jesus, by telling the truth, there's enough danger out there for that. If you're going to suffer, let it be for righteousness sake, but not as an evil doer or a troublemaker. Amen? We can agree on that. Let's pray for boldness. Let's pray for wisdom as we navigate the coming weeks and months. We're going to need it, friends. We're going to need the

discernment of the Holy Spirit to help us navigate this rapidly darkening world. And you can see it, I can see it. As people celebrate Charlie Kirk's murder, as people celebrate what's evil instead of what's good, as they call good, evil and evil, good, as the threat against Christians only increases exponentially. Now, even here in the West, you have to decide now if you're a believer, how you're gonna respond. And it's my hope and my prayer for you.

all our followers and listeners and people in the podcast and videos and that follow this ministry that you would choose to be led by the Lord Jesus. Go out into this very, very dark world with his love and with his Holy Spirit. You can't do it on your own. You can't love your enemies and be nice and be kind on your own. You need the Spirit of God living inside of you. Say, Lord, help me. Give me the words to say. And didn't he say it? Didn't Jesus say?

Concerning The Times: Howard Green (20:13.164)
Take no mind of what you're gonna say beforehand for my father will be speaking through you. Give me words to say that hour. You have this word inside of you, trust the Lord. Instead of fighting and having to be right and win the argument and out there quote unquote street preaching and witnessing and talking to people and screaming at them and yelling at them, if you're gonna go out and street preach, if you're gonna go out and witness, if you're gonna go talk to people, if you're gonna talk to people with differing views, do it, but do it with the motivating factor of love, the love for their lost soul and the love for Jesus.

whether they change or not. Our job isn't to change, that's the Spirit's job, amen. It's been a very tough two weeks and a lot of heaviness over this land, but I want you to take heart. I want you to know that greater is he that's in me, right? And he that's in the world. And Jesus told us, no matter what happens, friends, listen to this, Jesus told us that he would never leave us. God bless you guys. Have a great week. We'll talk to you soon. Please remember to rate and subscribe to our podcast. Thanks!