To me, Charlie Kirk was a modern-day Stephen. For those who do not know who Stephen was and/or is not familiar with or have forgotten his story, I implore you to read Acts 6-7 (NIV, Zondervan edition).

I will share some excerpts from these chapters. Seven men were chosen to minister to the widows for the daily distribution of food to them. Acts 6:3: “Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom…” Acts 6:5,6: “This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas…They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them.” Acts 6:8: Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)-Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia-who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.” He was taken before the Sanhedrin (court). Though they lied about Stephen and brought in false witnesses, Acts 6:15 says, “All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” In chapter 7 Stephens speaks before for the Sanhedrin. He ends his speech with these words, Acts 7:51-53: “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. you are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him-you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it. Acts 7:56-8:1: “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul approved of their killing him.”

Who was Saul? A man who would later have an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, be radically saved and the Lord would change his name to Paul. He is the same man we know as the Apostle Paul who wrote a great deal of the New Testament. (You never know who will be impacted if not now, later with the Truth of the Gospel).

Stephen was not a super-hero. He was just a man who served and yielded himself to the One True God just like Charlie Kirk did.

Charlie Kirk was not a saint or a demi-god that we should idolize and/or worship him. He worshipped Jesus, appealed to our Lord and Savior and to the best of his ability, tried to obey what Christ had placed in his heart. In all he did and said, he tried to do and say to the Glory of God. He was not a perfect man, but he served a perfect God and we all got to see what that looked like.

What message am I trying to convey here? From what I have seen of this young man, it was never his heart that we would worship him or try to be like him. It was his heart that we would repent of our ways and give our hearts to Jesus as Lord and Savior, and seek His will and share the Good News to the lost and dying because without Jesus we are lost and without Jesus we are spiritually dead and just waiting for our bodies to catch up. Charlie Kirk knew that what he was sharing and challenging us to do was impossible without Christ. He knew that individuals, families, countries, and nations had no future and no freedom outside of Christ.

Charlie Kirk was not murdered because he wanted America to be Great Again or because of his stance about transgenderism and so forth. He was murdered to silence him because he was a man of God and stood up unashamedly before a world that has rejected God. Charlie Kirk’s words will not be silenced because they were not his words, but God’s words.

Some important points to be made:

1. Forgive the shooter. I am NOT saying that the perpetrator should not be found and pay for his crime.
2. Don’t try to be a clone of Charlie Kirk, but have his heart for Christ and share the life of Christ as the Holy Spirit leads you in the sphere you are in, as a result of your relationship with Jesus.
3. Do not be adversarial. Nothing is ever made right through fear, hate, unforgiveness and bitterness or vengeance. Romans 12:9-21. Remember GOD IS LOVE. 1 John 4:16,17. Love is not what God does. Love is what He is.
4. God does not takes sides. He wants all of mankind to be saved, but the decision is ours, Life or Death. Joshua 5:13-15; Deuteronomy 30:19,20; 2Peter 3:8-18.
5. Don’t worry about those who are celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death. I believe that satan and the demons were having quite a celebration when Jesus died on the cross until the third day. Time has a way of revealing what is of God and what is not.
6. We must have the same heart that Queen Esther had when she was challenged by her Uncle Mordecai about her being in her position for such a time as this. She rose to the occasion and said, “If I perish, I perish.” Esther 4:13-17.

John 3:16-21: ” For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and will not come into the Light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the Truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.