Faith, Martyrdom, and Standing for Truth in Troubled Times

The assassination of Charlie Kirk represents more than just a political attack—it symbolizes a deeper spiritual battle raging for the heart and soul of our nation.

• Standing for truth often faces opposition, similar to Stephen in Acts who was killed for speaking truth
• Charlie Kirk exemplified respectful dialogue, taking time to listen while remaining committed to truth
• This battle isn't against flesh and blood but against spiritual darkness
• Light shines brightest in darkness, making this the most strategic time to stand for truth
• Our response to tragedy should be love, not anger or vengeance
• We win this battle through daily acts of love and consistently speaking truth
• The enemy may mean events for evil, but God can turn them for good
• True love sometimes means speaking uncomfortable truth with compassion
• Our trust must be in God, not in our own strength or works

Please share this episode with someone who needs to hear it. Like and leave a review—it would mean the world to me.

Transcript

Reflecting on Charlie Kirk's Loss

Speaker 1 0:01

Welcome back to the Outdoorsman's Mandate podcast . Thank you for tuning in . I'm so excited that you're here and taking the time to listen to me . I just wanna say this right off the bat that it means the world to me . If you're listening to this , I know a lot of you that follow me . We're kind of diverse backgrounds , some are believers , some are non-believers , some are curious , and I just appreciate you for respecting me enough to take the time to listen to what I have to say , and I'm really just again honored that you're here Today .

Speaker 1 0:29

We're going to be talking about something that is not really divisive by most and some it is , but more so it's just devastating . I actually wanted to talk about this yesterday . The truth is I , I was just upset . I still am upset , still frustrated , still angry , um , but I was not in a place to put thought together and try to communicate and to speak . So , um , but I am gonna just share my version , my perspective of kind of what happened yesterday and talk about some really awesome stuff . I'm going to talk about truth , and that's what I'm really excited to talk about is truth , because now , in light of the events of what has happened and a life that was lost , a great life that was lost . I feel that myself and many others are now even more inspired to speak and share the truth than ever before , and in fact it's now . It's really just mandatory , it's not even optional . We have to make sure that we're speaking the truth . But what's crazy about yesterday and I'm just going to open the Bible here Yesterday morning , before Charlie Kirk was assassinated , it was just a normal day , probably for everybody .

Speaker 1 1:51

I was reading the Bible . I try to read the Bible every morning . I'm not perfect on the day every morning , but it's important to me to give God the first , and that's what I was doing . I was reading . Now , I've been in the Old Testament for a while . What was interesting is , for some reason , I decided to go to the New Testament yesterday and I found my way right on over to Acts . I felt , you know , let's go to Acts . For some reason I was just drawn to that . So I started going through and I'm reading through the chapters and I ended up right around chapter six with where it talks about the first martyr we're talking about Stephen and I just felt led to read that . And I'm actually I'm going to read something here to read that and I'm actually I'm going to read something here .

Speaker 1 2:29

This is chapter six , verse eight . Stephen is arrested . Stephen , a man full of God's grace and power , performed amazing miracles and signs among the people , but one day some men from the synagogue of freed slaves , as it was called , started to debate with him . They were Jews from Cyrene , alexandria , cilicia and the providence of Asia . None of them could stand against the wisdom of the spirit with which Stephen spoke . It's pretty powerful , right .

Speaker 1 2:56

So when they go to debate him , they're losing because he's speaking truth . He's speaking truth . You know so in . So , in a nutshell , basically , if you read on that , he was arrested and then he was basically heard out , so he was able to address the council , and so he goes on and he speaks and essentially is telling the gospel . He's going back to the old testament , telling the story on how and how the old testament points to jesus , and you can read this in chapter seven . It's a basically the whole whole chapter is him speaking to the council and then speaking the truth .

Speaker 1 3:27

And here's something else that is interesting , as he was speaking the truth and continuing to tell the truth in verse 57 , it says I believe this is chapter 7 , verse 57 , they put their hands over their ears and began shouting . They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began shouting . They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him . His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul . And so I read that yesterday morning and I continued to read on . I actually read about Saul , who . It was really cool . You know , saul , basically the man who was approving and essentially overseeing this killing of the martyr , of Stephen , the first martyr , ended up converting , which is so beautiful , right , god's grace is so powerful .

Speaker 1 4:18

So I read that yesterday and you know , go about the day , go to work like many of us do , doing what we do . And you know , go about the day , go to work like many of us do , doing what we do . And then , around whatever time of day it was middle of the day , somewhere around there , 1 or something like that I'm getting a text that Charlie has been shot , and then you know . After that I kind of was like you know what's going on . It takes a little bit for information to travel and as we get deeper into it , then you see what happened . Obviously , if you've seen the clips , it's devastating to see . That really hurt my heart , made me righteously angry 100% . But I found that it was interesting that I read this . Let me give you another tidbit of information that I thought was interesting .

Speaker 1 4:59

I was actually talking to Barton today before I decided to hop on and do this podcast , and he to Barton today before I decided to hop on and do this podcast , and he Barton . If you don't know him , barton Ramsey , I'm sure you do know him . He's my business partner friend . We've known each other for years . We were on the phone , we were talking about how we were so devastated essentially just like in shock and then he's telling me that he's in Acts too . I was like , hey , I'm actually reading Acts . He's like , dude , no way , I'm actually reading Acts . And so we begin this conversation . So I don't think it's an accident that the Holy Spirit led me to be reading Acts , because whether you believe in God or religion or maybe you don't believe or not and when I say this you could be thinking it's coincidence One thing is undeniable , and that's that we're at war .

Speaker 1 5:39

We're not in a physical war . We are . You know , we're not going to win this war by killing . This is a war that's ideological . It's a war of thoughts and , as the scripture says , we are not in a battle against flesh and blood , but against rulers and darkness and principalities .

Speaker 1 5:55

Now , one thing I just want to honor Charlie for who . The man he is not even talking , politically speaking , but the man he was is how he handled people . How he handled people right . If you look at his videos , what you'll see is that Charlie took the time and was respectful of others and took the time to listen and hear them out . You don't see someone that is cutting people off . You see someone who truly , genuinely cares and was actually engaging in conversation and hearing out the other person while also sharing the truth that he is sharing .

Speaker 1 6:30

And you know a lot of us , many , many out there have been on the sidelines and not speaking right . A lot of people just go about life right . A lot of times it's easier just to go about life and , like you see stuff going on . You hear people spewing these lies and these ideas and it's just easier just to move on , to not have conflict and just move on . But we're really at a cross point . If you look at our country , look at what's happened and you look at the world ,

Scripture's Timely Message in Acts

Speaker 1 6:57

it's not getting .

Speaker 1 6:58

I will say it's rapidly heading towards a destination . No one necessarily knows what the exact destination is , but we're rapidly heading towards a destination . No one necessarily knows what the exact destination is , but we're rapidly heading towards some destination . And I think in your gut , if you're being honest with yourself , you know it's not good . We know it's not good 100% . So as I read that and all these events unfolded which are just devastating , I pray for his family . I bless his family . We want to honor his name , his legacy of caring and loving others .

Speaker 1 7:29

But , most importantly , he stood for the gospel of Jesus Christ . He stood for the message of truth . Right , this is truth . And for many that say , what is truth ? Even Pilate said well , what is truth ? Many of us are asking that same question today what is truth ? Well , if you open up your mind and , instead of being defensive and you sit back , just take it all in , logically speaking , you can start looking at everything and realize what the truth is , but also deepen your soul and your heart . But let's go back to the scripture that talks about we are not in a battle against flesh and blood . This is a battle against rulers , principalities and darkness , evil spirits .

Speaker 1 8:08

And if you look at Charlie a man of faith , a family man , a man that's keeping his family unit together , that is standing for other families and keeping families together , you're starting to look at everything that is biblical . You start looking at these biblical principles weaved into his life . He's standing on these principles . That's what's at attack . That's , you know , frankly , the beliefs . The truth is under attack and so you know he stood up for truth and did what many probably wouldn't do .

Speaker 1 8:38

He actually died for what he believed in , obviously knew the dangers , clearly had been threatened , and all that , at least from what I've heard , even questions online from him as he's speaking . But his allegiance was not to his own body and not to his own life , but his allegiance was to God . I heard an interview where he said you know , my wife , we all understand this , we're a family , but we are really answering to God because we don't want to get up to God and God say well , why didn't you trust me ? Why didn't you follow me ? And a lot of us , we try to wrap our heads around all these things , these horrific events , and sometimes you can't really wrap your head around it . You have to have that , that eternal perspective . But I can say you know him , you know being assassinated is not just political . It is political in some ways right , because he stands for political , but it's not just political .

Speaker 1 9:28

This is the war for the heart of America . This is the war for our beliefs . This is a war that is , again , not going to be won by going out and taking out . The only way to win this war is to stand up for truth and to speak the truth and to live the truth Every day . We wake up with our families . Love one another . When you get back to the root of scripture , love the Lord , your God , with all your heart , soul , mind and strength , and love your neighbor as yourself . That is how you win . We're not in a battle against people .

Speaker 1 10:02

Even though he physically died yesterday , which , as a Christian , to live is for Christ , to die is to gain . You can't kill a Christian , you can kill their body . But when , instantly , charlie's with the Lord in absolute perfect peace and the word says in , I don't remember exactly what it says , but basically , god is not the God of the dead , he's the God of the living . He's the God of the living . He's the God of Abraham , the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob . Obviously , their bodies are long gone by now , but our God is the God of them . He is the living God , and so , as Christians , we believe that when we die , if your trust is in Jesus , you go to heaven . We can go back .

Speaker 1 10:44

Actually , I find it interesting I want to use that word trust as I talk about this , because my mind was going in so many different places and I just feel like this is where the Lord was leading me with this . Is that , who is your trust in ? That's my question for you as a believer . I'm really in this podcast specifically . I'm going to be talking heavily to believers . If you're a non-believer and you're listening to this , thank you . Please keep listening , and I appreciate you for opening your ears , not being like those that killed Stephen , who shut their ears . Please don't shut your ears . Keep an open heart and just listen . You have the choice . You get to make the choice as you're hearing the truth as it's spoken . You get to make the choice whether you receive or not , but my encouragement for you is don't close your ears . Don't close your ears , keep an open ears and keep listening . But we go back to .

The War of Ideas, Not Flesh

Speaker 1 11:35

I was reading a story to my little girl . We were reading just the Gospels and reading through and she's asking about Judas , the one who betrayed Jesus . You start looking at him . Who was his trust in ? His trust wasn't in Jesus , it wasn't in God . He tried to handle things himself . Even after he betrayed Jesus , he tried to handle things himself . He tries to go give the money back , essentially say , hey , I messed up , let me make this right myself . And well , he obviously couldn't make it right and they told him to keep his money . And then Judas goes and kills himself .

Speaker 1 12:06

The ultimate act of continuing to try to make things right in your own strength . There are so many out there that are believing that lie from Satan that you can make things right by being a good person . You can live a good life , you can do enough good and earn your way to heaven . But as a true Christian , someone that live a good life , you can do enough good and earn your way to heaven . But as a true Christian , someone that listens to the word and actually receives what it says , we don't believe that we can do good to get to heaven . In fact , our righteousness is as filthy rags . Even all the good you do , even if you're the best person you do , all the good , it's still filthy rags compared to the greatness of the Almighty God .

Speaker 1 12:46

And so when you start looking at that , you start to realize , you know , if you're reading the scripture and you start to be convicted in your heart and you're reading all these things , you know you should not even look at someone lustfully or you've committed adultery with their heart . If you're even angry with someone , that's the same as committing murder . When you start looking like that , everybody has been angry with someone , you know everybody has had a lustful look or they've told a lie , whatever it may be . When you start looking at that , there is no way out . You can't make it to heaven , except for someone has to pay your way . And Jesus , the Messiah , the King of kings , the Lord of lords , god , chose to take your place and pay for it for you . You have the option to choose to receive that or you have the option to choose to pay for it yourself .

Speaker 1 13:38

Now , the paying for it yourself . I just said you can't pay for it yourself . Well , you can't pay for it yourself . On this side of heaven , you can , on the backside pay for it yourself on this side of heaven . You can , on the backside , pay for it , but it's eternal and the payment is never ending . It's eternal hell and eternal fire , which is a real place . It's not some mythical deal , it's not some metaphor . It's a legitimate , real place , and so is heaven . You can choose to pay for what you've done because our God is just , or you can choose to receive what he did because our God is just the wrath that was meant for us and for our sins .

Speaker 1 14:14

And really , hell was actually created for the angels , by the way . So I had someone ask me that one time . Well , you know , essentially , why is God creating that horrible place ? You know , if God loves us and he's a loving father , well , actually , hell was . If you look in the scripture , hell was not created for people . It was actually created for the angels and Satan himself , you know , when he defied God . But that same spirit , that same pride when you look at Judas , who tried to take things in his own hands , it's the same root , the same spirit that was basically involved with Satan making that choice to defy God , while it cost them everything instead of having a humble heart and receiving God . But now when we look at these words here . Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting .

Speaker 1 14:56

I find it interesting that a lot of the things that Charlie was standing up for is actually kind of it's really the same spirit when you look at the right to life right , we're talking about pro-life versus pro-choice and you start to see people getting these big arguments about it's my body , my choice , which you're really buying into , the spirit of pride , because you're not receiving that . God is sovereign and God declares that all life is worthy . How did he declare that ? He declared that by dying for you , for women and men and children and everyone we get to receive . We get to receive that and so God is faithful .

Speaker 1 15:43

Again , after what happened yesterday , I was so upset . I'm still very upset . I know many of you may be upset . Here's my encouragement for you that are believers , that are listening to this , and this is who I really want to speak to in this specific podcast . We are at war and we're not going to win it by getting angry and by going and demolishing and doing things , bad things , to harm anything . We win this daily by how we love . When we are cursed , we turn and we bless others , we do what Jesus says not only love your neighbor , but love your enemies .

Speaker 1 16:19

And let's , I want to read a little bit further . And this is this is the mark of Jesus . This is a mark of a Christian . This is the mark of a true believer . As they stoned him , stephen prayed Lord Jesus received my spirit . He fell to his knees , shouting Lord spirit . He fell to his knees shouting Lord , do not charge them with this sin . And with that he died . Not angry at them for killing him , his focus and eyes were on the one that matters . It was on Jesus . In fact , we see beyond this realm and beyond this world . As believers , we see that there's more to life than our body . There's more to life than the body . There's eternity at stake here . So , every day , eternity is at stake when we wake up , when we go about , how we speak to people , and you're not going to get it right . That's why we need Jesus . This isn't a go get it right in your own strength .

Speaker 1 17:07

Let me just go ahead and say this for you non-believers listening to this , and maybe you Christians that are struggling when you hear this concept if you're filtering this through your worldly view and through a mindset of you've got to do good . Let me just tell you I've tried to do good . I've seen people try to do good . In fact , there's scripture that talks about it . The more you try to do good , the more evil kind of rises up .

Speaker 1 17:30

It's not until you submit , and you actually are submitted to Jesus and you are receiving what he did for you . Instead of trying to make it right in your own strength , you're receiving his grace and his mercy . When you receive that , only then can you live in freedom . Only then can you live in truth . Only then are you going to be able to love your enemies . Only when you're submitted to the one who is above all . His name is Jesus , the King of kings , lord of lords , the Messiah . There is no other way to the Father except through him . All other ways are for the liars and the thieves . And when you try to climb over and when you try to get to heaven by doing good , you're not going to get there . When you try to get to heaven by some other way , some other religion , this isn't even a religious thing . This is relationship , and we can talk more about that in other podcasts .

Speaker 1 18:19

But I'm really speaking to you , believer , specifically , but I want to speak to you , non-believer too , for listening to this is you're like this doesn't even make sense . Well , there's a reason it doesn't make sense . If you are dead , right , as Christians , we believe you have to be born again . When you're dead , there's a reason . You're born into sin and you're basically dead . You have to be born again . Only then can you receive life . When you are born again , it's easier to understand because you're living from a spiritual perspective . You're living from a spirit-filled new life , when we are a new creation in Christ Jesus . The old has gone , the new has come . There's a transformation . When you receive what Jesus did , the transformation isn't oh , go , get yourself cleaned up , go , do good , and then you're transformed . It's a fall to your knees and say God , you're right , I'm wrong , help me . It's realizing your helplessness .

Speaker 1 19:11

And there's a story that Jesus talks about , about the prophet man that's so great , about how much you know he's doing , or praying , or putting money in the plate or whatever . Sorry , I'm botching that story pretty bad . But then there's he talks about the other guy that is over there begging God for mercy because he realizes how wretched of a sinner he is . When you realize your need for God and you come to him and you repent . That's what it's about . It's not about you being good . Repentance just means turning the other way . What are you turning to ? You're turning away from your ways , your righteousness , your own decrees , your own laws , everything that you set up , your belief system . You're essentially forsaking everything you've ever known and you're turning to the one and you're saying you're right , I'm wrong , please forgive me , please help me . You realize your need for God and so , as a believer , here's my encouragement for you , wherever you're at in the process . Maybe this is an awakening moment for you . Maybe , after everything that has happened , you're waking up and you're realizing look , here's our mission . Let's go fulfill what Jesus told us to do . Go make disciples of all nations . How do you make disciples ? It starts , one person at a time , one day at a time , one breath at a time .

Speaker 1 20:20

I want to tell a story real quick ,

Trusting God, Not Our Own Strength

Speaker 1 20:22

because I love stories . I just want to shout out someone I'm so proud of . He's actually a Cornerstone member . For those that don't know , cornerstone is an online course for teaching you how to train your dogs . I am so proud of Darren Paul . I'm really happy to be shouting him out , and I also want to shout out Cody Weiss , another CGA member , these two guys specifically because they came to that place and they recognized their need for God God , I need you . And they repented and they said , god , please come , help me , come live inside of me , come make me new , and they gave their life to Jesus . But I want to tell you a story about how God works in mysterious ways . So this past member weekend so member weekend again , for those that don't know what that is , member weekend is where we have the hub where we basically people come from all over the world , all over the country Well , I say the world too different countries . They come from all over to come train their dogs at what we call member weekend . It's essentially a big family gathering where we are training our dogs together , the same way we train in Cornerstone .

Speaker 1 21:29

And Darren Paul came to this and what was crazy is Miss Violet , my dog . Violet , she is kind of the core dog in the videos . She's the one you follow , if you're following our course and you're watching her make mistakes and everything . Well , the night before member weekend or the day before , maybe two days before , she ate something . I didn't realize it . I was busy really getting set up for member weekend , so I just was letting them play out in the yard and she ate something . Well , violet got an impact in her stomach and she stopped eating . I was like this is not good . Sometimes that happens and so I let it go .

Speaker 1 22:06

On a day I actually took her to the vet and everything . They just gave her some stuff . I'm like let's just see what happens . Well , it wasn't getting any better . So that evening I go ahead and I have to take her back out to the vet . And so in my mind , here's what I'm thinking this is the worst Number one . I'd never want this to happen , but if it were going to happen , this is the worst time for it to happen .

Speaker 1 22:26

People are converging from all different parts of the country in the world to come train their dogs together , and they obviously are going to want to see Violet , because Violet is the dog they followed along with in the videos . But my , you know , as I'm driving out there , I'm thinking this , this I know the seriousness of this , because she hadn't eaten for a couple of days and the vet said to bring her back out after . What they did was not working and I'm starting to realize like this may be it for Violet , this may be it . And so I'm in this turmoil and so , um , I'm driving , you know , I'm driving out . I'm actually we have the leaders , so we have leaders in Cornerstone that are basically going to help , help pull off the event , and so I'm driving out to have a dinner with them .

Speaker 1 23:09

This is Thursday evening , remember we can . It's going to start on Friday , and as I'm driving out , it's a beautiful sunset I'm bringing Violet Actually , I'd already brought her out earlier that day and so I'm driving out thinking about Violet , knowing they're about to do surgery on her , and I'm driving along just saying Lord , what do I say , god ? What do I do ? And as I'm driving along , I look over to my right and there's a truck driving by , and this is an 18-wheeler . When I say a truck , an 18-wheeler , and it said Faith in Transit LLC . And God spoke to me right then and there and said your miracle's in transit , just be patient .

Speaker 1 23:53

Now , what's crazy about this ? Obviously , when I heard that , I felt total peace , I was like , okay , thank you God . What's crazy about this is , you know , obviously Violet was about to go under the knife , she was about to go into surgery , and I don't know what time of day this was , but it was in the afternoon . They were doing a surgery after hours , so this was gonna be like 7 pm when they were going to do the surgery on Violet . So I'm on my way out and so I listened to God and he said your miracle is in transit . So that was kind of my theme . That's what I was going to be thinking about . I was like , okay , god , you got it .

Speaker 1 24:26

So when people were asking where's Violet ? Well , hey , and I had some say to me . Actually , when we're out having that dinner , they're like man , if that was my dog , I'd be in shambles , and I'm able to speak with confidence and say , hey , the truth is . Here's where I stand . I'm having this dinner as my dog is getting cut open and potentially going to die , but I have a word from the Lord that says your miracle's in transit and I'm able to speak the truth . The fact is , I trust in God . So here's the deal . When they're saying , well , if that was my dog , I'd be in shambles , it looks like Josh is just hiding it . Well , I actually wasn't hiding anything . I had total peace in my heart because my trust was in God .

Speaker 1 25:10

Now , whether Violet made it through or not , even if what I heard was not necessarily what maybe I perceived wrong , I still had my confidence in God , that God is sovereign and he is faithful , and so that was my stance . But I had pretty strong belief , like when I heard God say , hey , your miracle's in transit , I was like , oh , she's going to pull through , even though it's like very unlikely in the surgery , in the circumstances I mean , mean , like she was really sick , it had been a couple days since she'd even really wanted to drink water . It was a bad , bad deal . Like it was just so sad to see her like that . So , and what was crazy is , so we sit down , we're having the dinner , we we pray , and as as someone's saying that , as as we're having that conversation , I see , you know , we see this beautiful sunset and rainbow and just I'm able to just have this peace . I felt this peace like I've never felt before . Well , I actually have felt it before , just in different circumstances , but like I just knew like God's with me . It's almost like when I was a little kid , my dad would just put his hand on me and I would just feel this peace and I felt like that's what God was doing , would just put his hand on me and I would just feel this peace . I felt like that's what God was doing . Well , you know , I get the call literally like 20 minutes later as we're getting ready or as I'm leaving the place , that , hey , she made it through the surgery . So we'll see how it goes from here . You know , basically you know how vets and doctors can be not as optimistic as I would like to be and I said fantastic , so I'm able to say pull through the surgery . But obviously she , Violet , actually got better , she made it through the night . I got to text hey , she made it through the night , we're looking better , we'll see how she does . Then I got a text that she's drinking some water . So we're looking good . But what is so beautiful about this story is how sovereign our God is . He takes what the enemy means for evil and he turns it to good . So Darren happens to drive trucks .

Speaker 1 27:06

At the end of member weekend we have an event where I'm going to share people with my faith , and here's how I said it . I was like , hey , look , if you want to know the real reason

The Miracle in Transit Story

Speaker 1 27:16

why Cornerstone is successful and you want to know why all this works . Meet me here at this time and I'm going to tell you , and so we invite everybody in . Have amazing people there , actually a lot of strong believers there . It was really awesome Get to share the faith , get to share how . It's not about works , it's about trust , it's about who you're trusting in and it's about the one , the Messiah , about Jesus . I get to share really the gospel . And so I get to end up having a conversation later with Darren and Darren made the decision that night .

Speaker 1 27:50

We talked after I shared my faith with everybody and everybody had gone home . We ended up talking and we just talked about what's important in life , what mattered to him , and he shared with me his heart and I kind of had that same conversation Because a lot of people are having trouble connecting with God , and that was kind of what Darren was saying . He was having trouble connecting with God like he wants to , but it's just not working . And I said , well , that could be because you're dead on the inside If you haven't received him , I asked . I was like , hey , have you ever given your life to Jesus ? Have you ever invited him to be Lord of your life and actually surrendered to him , not just , you know , just believed in him .

Speaker 1 28:27

There's a difference between believing and actually trusting and following God . Even the enemy , even the devil , knows God exists . Just believing God , you got to actually believe in meaning , you put all of your hope and your trust in him and I said have you ever done that ? He said no . So we talked more and then he shares with me , and then he chose to do that right then and there it became a new creation in a moment . And so what's so powerful that wrecks me , that makes me so happy ? But what's so powerful about that is God took what the enemy meant for evil . He positioned that truck at the perfect time for me to be passing , just to glance over and see that Speak that word to me , a word that meant a lot to me , but it also meant a lot to someone who needed to hear it , and so to you believers that I'm speaking out there .

Speaker 1 29:11

That is what God has called us to do is live everyday life for him . And so if you want to not worry about you know , if you want to know how to respond to the darkness that we have witnessed in this country , it's not by telling people off , it's by loving people . It's by sharing the truth , and the truth can't offend . Why ? Because if you're in a dead place and you have a false belief and you believe in lies and then you're confronted with the truth , there's going to sometimes be sparks with that and when you speak the truth , not everybody's going to receive it . Some people are going to close their ears . It's not our job to make someone receive it . It's our job to spread the seed and God does the watering , he does everything else and we pray that their hearts are soft . But I'm just proud of Darren and the man he is and the man who God has made him to be , and I'm proud of every single one of you that are listening to this and I just hope that really , I wanted to do this to encourage and inspire and to number one myself speak truth .

Speaker 1 30:11

But I wanted to speak to you specifically , if you're in this place . Like , what do we do now ? This is such a dark place . Honestly , this is the best time to be alive . This is the best time to be a Christian . This is the best time to be a believer , why ? Because the light shines best in darkness and we are called to spread the gospel . We are called to love people . We are called . The number one thing we're called to do first , though , is to love God . Love the Lord , your God , with all your heart , soul , mind and strength , and then we love our neighbors , ourself . So , first , love God . Fall in love with God . If you're somewhere out there and you're struggling with God , let's work on that . Let's go pursue God and just be honest with him . Say God , here's where I'm at .

Speaker 1 30:53

We talked about being honest earlier and about being real . Be honest with him . This is where I'm at . I'm struggling . I'm struggling to connect to you . I'm struggling to fill you . Maybe you're an unbeliever . Just say I don't even know if I believe . Whatever it is . I promise you this If you get real with God and you tell him where you're really at , and you come with a sincere heart , you will not be disappointed , because he is real , he is faithful , he is true , and his word always delivers and never returns void . Now my call to action for you , believers , is to rise up , speak the truth , love ferociously and be who God created you to be . Don't live in shame . There's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus . Don't put your trust in your works . Put your trust in God , put your faith in him and honor him with all that you do . That is our response , that is what we do as believers , and also to honor what Charlie has done , which has stood for the gospel of Jesus . Every go he's teaching the gospel of Jesus and he's also meeting people where they're at and talking to them about their ideals , their thoughts , their beliefs .

Speaker 1 32:00

I've heard John Bevere said you know , one of the greatest things you can do is the way to truly love someone is not to worry about offending them . The way to truly love someone is , if someone is blind and they're walking towards a cliff and they're going to fall off , tell them , hey , you're going that way , but it's not going to come from this condemning perspective , it's not going to come from , oh , you're so wrong . It's going to come from meeting someone where they're at . And it's going to come from meeting someone where they're at and it's going to come from opening up your heart and just sometimes it's a smile . That's why I'm saying , hey , when you look at the scripture and you see the number one thing is to know God and then to make him known . You're not going to be able to make him known , unless you know him personally . So just love God . Wake up every morning , read your scripture , worship and share the gospel . Love others . So that's what I feel called to say .

Speaker 1 32:51

Again , like I said , it's devastating to see , but it was amazing how I was actually reading this and God had led me to this before this even happened . Sorry , I couldn't put it out earlier Again , I was upset , but Charlie was a martyr . He died for his faith , not just in political views , but he actually died for faith in Jesus , and you maybe have even heard one of the last things he had said before . All that happened is that Jesus is Lord . He talked about the reality of Jesus , not just from the spiritual perspective , but from the worldly perspective . I want to shout out , steve , I've asked it to you I the spiritual perspective , but from the worldly perspective , um , I want to shout out Steve , I've asked it to I love , uh , I love Steve , and I want to shout out a book that he's very passionate about and he would encourage all of you that are struggling with your belief in God .

Speaker 1 33:32

Check out , um , the case for Christ . Check it out , but more than anything , us as believers , if we want someone to come to know the Lord , it's going to come with how we love , how we live . The most important thing that we can do is live in submission before God , take our everyday , ordinary life and lay it down in obedience before God and honor him . So thanks for joining me on this podcast and , if you wouldn't mind , if you've enjoyed this episode or if you feel compelled , please share this with someone that you think could find it valuable . Sending this text to a friend or someone that you know , like I feel like they just need to hear that . That could go a long way . That's one thing that you could do . That could go a long way . Liking as well and leaving a review that would mean the world to me .

Speaker 1 34:16

But , most importantly , let's actually pray before we close this out , let's say we're going to close this out , I want to pray , we're going to close this out . I want to pray . We're going to talk to God . We're going to go to our Father , the beautiful Father and Lord , I love you . You're a good Father , you're the great Father . God , I just thank you for who you are . I thank you that you're with me now and then , as those that are listening later and they're hearing this , you're with them too . You are a very ever-present help in trouble . You go before us , you go behind us . God , I thank you that you even said in your word that

Responding to Darkness with Love

Speaker 1 34:52

in this world we will experience trouble . But take heart , for I've overcome the world , Lord . You have overcome Jesus , and we put our trust in you .

Speaker 1 35:00

God , I pray for the believers that are listening to this , god . I pray that you'll strengthen them , that you'll put a righteous fuel in their hearts , deep in their souls and in their spirits . Number one , a righteousness to love you , to rather than respond to what happened I mean , rather than react to what happened to respond to what happened with worship and praise of you , because the circumstances in this world do not change your goodness . You are always good , you are always good , and so we come before you and we worship you for who you are . We praise you for who you are because you are good .

Speaker 1 35:35

And , god , I just pray again over them that you'll just put it draw us to you , lord , help us to be closer to you , help us fall more in love with you . But I also pray that you'll put a fire in us to stand for the truth . Us fall more in love with you , but I also pray that you'll put a fire in us to stand for the truth and thank you , god , that we are more than conquerors and that at the end of the day , we win , no matter what . To live is for Christ , to die is to gain , and so we put our eyes , we fix our eyes , on you , jesus . We honor you above all else . You're the name above all names , and we thank you that your truth is powerful and that darkness cannot stand against it and the gates of hell will not be able to withstand your church .

Speaker 1 36:09

God , I just pray that over the whole church as a whole , right now , that you know , as your word says , that it's not just we're not on the defensive , we're on the offensive . So I just pray that you'll just fuel us up as warriors for Christ to do your will , to love others ferociously and to see your name be made known . In Jesus' name , bless everyone that's listening to this . And for the nonbelievers that are listening , I just pray right now , lord , that they'll just have this understanding that they can at least come seek you and just ask who are you ? Will you reveal yourself to me and we just declare that in Jesus' name , amen .

Speaker 1 36:44

And if you are an unbeliever and you're wondering about all this , and maybe you don't even believe it all . Look , thank you for listening . Welcome , come listen all you want . You're welcome here . My encouragement for you is I would encourage you to actually just ask God . Hey , god , you know . If you're real , will you reveal yourself to me , reveal you who are you ? If you're willing to take that little leap of faith and just say that prayer and then just watch and see what happens , god will meet you where you're at .