By Rob Schmutz
Watchman Evangelism Ministries
Kansas pulpit fill and revival pastor
I keep getting questions about whether I’m getting anything from the Lord or from His Word about Charlie Kirk and his tragic assassination.
Yes… many things actually. Many things… But, here’s what most pervasively keeps coming to my mind:
“And so it begins…”
Charlie Kirk was a Christian Apologist in the truest sense of the word. He spoke the truth with as much “black and white” clarity, directness, grace, empathy and love as he could. And, he has now become one who has laid down his life for the Christian Faith. In fact, he has become a Martyr both of the Faith and for the Faith. And, even though his life was taken from him, his witness, his words, his testimony… all live powerfully and inspirationally on. Because, Charlie Kirk actually and quite literally lived out what it means to be a “follower” of Jesus. As followers of Jesus, We are called to lay our lives down… We are called to deny ourselves… We are called take up our cross daily… and… We are called to “follow” Jesus. Think clearly and soberly about where “following” Jesus eventually leads.
And, as you do, lets embrace the reality that this should not at all be a surprise to us, because… this is in fact precisely what Jesus told us we would, and were expected to be, as His followers. In Acts 1:8, as He prepared His disciples for His ascension He said: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses (the Greek word used here is μάρτυς / Martus, from which we derive our word Martyr) in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
And, according to Scripture (for instance in places like Revelation 6:9,10 & 11) in these times of the end (of which I believe we are actively in the midst of) there will be more martyrs for and of the Faith than ever before.
But… in Revelation 12:11, we’re also reminded, (instructed really) of (and about) how we (as true followers of Jesus) overcome the enemy, in the end times, even in the face of death. “They overcame him (Satan) by the blood of (Jesus) the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and because they did not love their lives even when faced with death.”
So… our reality is this, until Jesus either splits the sky, or stops our heart, we ( as followers of Jesus) have a job to do, the job of being “witnesses” of the good news of Jesus Christ who died to save us from our sins, to a lost, broken, and violent world. Witnesses no matter what… Witnesses who speak the truth in love both consistently and persistently to a world that just doesn’t want to hear it. In fact, so much do they not want to hear it, that they will begin to kill us in order to shut us up. The reality is that this is actually and factually happening every day all around the world, more so, in fact, than at any other time in History (fact check me on this). But now, in front of all of our eyes, on a small college campus in Utah, we have, I believe, finally been awakened (and/or are awakening) to the fact that life and death Christianity has come to 21st Century America.
What are you going to do about it?
