I was blessed with the opportunity to see the last interview that Charlie Kirk did before he was assassinated on September 10. I thought it was a most meaningful interview so want to share it with you as today’s TGIF message.
Let me begin by acknowledging that Charlie was interviewed by the podcast Restaurantology Summit by Savory. You need to understand that interview was totally non-political and focused on entrepreneurship, and the man leading it had to convince his partners that Charlie would be a valuable interview. The interview ran for about 35 minutes, with most of the time being spent on entrepreneurship and the restaurant business. My focus is not as much on the entrepreneurial part of the interview, but on the final question asked by the podcaster. That last question the interviewer asked Charlie was “What is a quote you live by?”
Charlie responded that he had a non-Biblical quote and a Biblical one as well. His first non-Biblical quote was “This too shall pass”, Charlie believed it was a quote that worked both for the best of times and the worst of times. This quote would cover the extremes that an entrepreneur would face, humbly building you up when needed, and similarly tamping you down a bit when things might be going too well. Charlie called it “a transcendent truth”.
Charlie then gave the verse shown below, which he called a free and liberating Bible verse.
Romans 8:28 – And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Charlie then continued “as Christians when things are really bad, God is working it for His good, his perfect and pleasing will”. Charlie used the entrepreneur example here as, for example, “business closures or staff layoffs and that God is working all things toward an ultimate good. So I love that, it is freeing that I don’t have to be in charge of everything. There is a God, and I am not Him, and I surrender to His will.”
If anyone is interested in viewing this video, it can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm-eaneh31E. If you do, you will see a committed Christian excited to serve His Lord and Savior, without fear of the potential consequences because of the eternal life in which he strongly believed. Charlie was assassinated exactly one hour after he left that interview. Note that the last 4 minutes of the interview contain the information I shared above. Also note that you can skip most of the 4-minute advertisement at the beginning.
I had heard of Charlie Kirk and also of Turning Point USA, but knew little about him or this 12-year-old organization before his death. Although Charlie did not have education beyond high school, I admit to being impressed with his wisdom and depth of knowledge that he demonstrated in his last interview about Christianity, entrepreneurship, and the business world. This wisdom was also shared with us by numerous speakers at his memorial service last Sunday. Charlie’s focus was clearly on providing Godly wisdom to college-age students as they sought true meaning for their lives.
Finally, I want to add a few comments about our church service last Sunday. We had a guest speaker since Pastor Don could not be there. Noah Wilbanks, local FCA Director, filled in for Don, and had a sermon titled Courage. Noah’s message was about having the courage to publicly proclaim your love for God, and to share it with others. He brought along a high school student active in FCA, who also was excited for his life of service for Jesus Christ. Finally, Tina, as is her style each week when she sends out her Wednesday message, concludes her message with Shine! Shine! Shine! – encouraging all of us to shine our light brightly for Jesus! The music she chose for last Sunday’s service fit perfectly with the messages shared by Noah and his student.
Charlie Kirk demonstrated his light throughout his life as well as in his last few hours on this earth, as you can see from his entire interview! May God continue to bless Covenant Church, all our members, the family of Charlie Kirk, and America as we continue to seek God’s purpose for each of us! Amen!