A Moving Tribute

Yesterday a celebration of the life of Charlie Kirk happened in Glendale, AZ and it was an incredible display of worship and sharing of the gospel. To many it was exactly what Kirk would have wanted as the global streaming surely showed his critics and doubters just how much influence his life had. And if you wanted a more impactful moment one only listen to Kirk’s widow Erika forgive his killer as we see from her comments as read from an article from CBN.com:

My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life..."

"On the cross, our Savior said: 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' That man—that young man—I forgive him. I forgive him because it's what Christ did. And it's what Charlie would do."

"The answer to hate is not hate. The answer—we know from the gospel—is love. Always love. Love for our enemies. Love for those who persecute us," she shared.

I discussed the Kim Clement prophecy about a modern day Esther and while I could see Erika Kirk fulfilling it there were some parts I didn’t see fitting. However Erika’s speech does appear to see her pouring the oil of healing on a fractured United States, a country that her husband strove to try and unite when he literally went into the lion’s den on the campuses of higher education. He did better than anyone I know and what no other person could or would do and that was to openly debate young people who disagreed with him. And he always shared his faith in Jesus and his love for telling others about it. I bristle when people still call him a conservative activist because he was so much more. But my question now is what is next? Where will we go from such an emotional and powerful time?

A Revival Is Happening

As a long time student of revival I don’t throw that word around lightly. But I do now. This has all the hallmarks of one starting with a single person who prayed and asked God to use him as Erika mentioned in her speech:

Just a few miles from here, two years ago, at America Fest 2023, Charlie delivered a speech on stage for our TPUSA Faith event. Charlie loved speaking off the cuff. He was very good at that—without a script. So I personally didn’t know what he was going to say.

And what he chose to speak about that day was his submission to the will of God. He quoted one of his favorite Bible verses, Isaiah chapter 6, verse 8: “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”

After Charlie finished, I met him backstage and spoke to him. And I’ll never forget this. I said, “Charlie, baby, please talk to me next time before you say that statement.” Because when you say something like that, there is so much power in that verse. When you say, “Here I am, Lord. Use me,” God will take you up on that.

And He did—with Charlie.

Like the revival in America called The Business Men’s Revival of 1857-58 it started with one man who started a prayer meeting on September 23rd of 1857in New York City where only 6 men attended. Before long thousands of people were praying every day. It was a notable time in America but my point is that it started with one man who had a vision for God to move. Back them it was Jeremiah Lanphier. Today it is Charlie Kirk. Lanphier wasn’t college educated and didn’t have ministerial training. Sound familiar? The two situations are different, but the spark for the flame of revival came the same way. Erika put it this way:

After Charlie’s assassination, we didn’t see violence. We didn’t see rioting. We didn’t see revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed he would see in this country.

We saw revival. This past week, we saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade. We saw people pray for the first time since they were children. We saw people go to a church service for the first time in their entire lives.

This is incredible and we should desire more and more of this. This was no ordinary life that was lived and now his death is accomplishing so much more than Kirk could have imagined. One person noted that Charlie had big plans, but God had bigger ones.

The Critics Are Still There

This is also true of all previous revivals. Those who continue to berate Kirk for what they call hateful comments and even saying that he brought his death upon himself are still spewing their bile daily. With this day and age with instant responses on social media garnering millions of views on just about anything the groups of detractors may think they are ruling the day. The algorithms make them think this as they give you more of what you just watched. However if we look at the huge amount of attendees at the memorial both in and outside the stadium and then add the people watching online we see a trend that should cause them to quake in their boots. The vigils held globally show that Kirk’s death sparked support never seen before by any other assassination death. I still have friends who see Kirk as a hateful man who only wanted the worst for those he disagreed with. As I listened to those closest to him, nothing could be further from the truth. People who never knew of him before his assassination started to check him out and came away with a much different view of him. He wasn’t perfect but he was dedicated to being used by God much like the Apostle Paul. He was a humble but determined Christian soldier who was always on a mission to counter the lies of our culture. The critics won’t go away, but those who objectively study his life will join his cause in ever increasing numbers. But the cause is not just a political one. It never was. The cause is a spiritual one. Let us heed the words of Erika Kirk one last time:

Charlie’s life was a turning point for this country. It was a miracle.

Let that miracle—Charlie’s life—be your turning point as well. Choose prayer. Choose courage. Choose beauty. Choose adventure. Choose family. Choose a life of faith. Most importantly: Choose Christ. Choose Christ.