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The Ben Ferguson Podcast Memorial to Charlie Kirk · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

0:00
Speaker 1: I got to tell you today's show is a very
0:05
Speaker 1: different show. I have just gotten back from Charlie Kirk's funeral.
0:10
Speaker 1: I was there with Senata Cruz and we were there
0:14
Speaker 1: to witness. I think what is going to go down
0:17
Speaker 1: in history is one of the most important days in
0:20
Speaker 1: modern history when it comes to our faith, Christianity and
0:24
Speaker 1: people coming to Christ. It was the biggest leaders in
0:28
Speaker 1: the country in a room and it wasn't political. It
0:31
Speaker 1: was about Charlie's life, his legacy and what he believed
0:37
Speaker 1: in and how he wanted to bring people to Christ
0:41
Speaker 1: and wanted to bring people together and wanted to save
0:43
Speaker 1: this country. And that to me was one of the
0:47
Speaker 1: most amazing parts about the day. So we are going
0:50
Speaker 1: to have a special show today with Senata Cruz and
0:53
Speaker 1: I as we do our normal podcast together. But I
0:56
Speaker 1: want you to hear it as we have just landed
0:59
Speaker 1: back here and it's one am in the morning Central,
1:02
Speaker 1: two o'clock Eastern right now, and I want you to
1:06
Speaker 1: just hear about the day, what we saw, what we heard,
1:10
Speaker 1: who we spoke with, and here is just us downloading
1:17
Speaker 1: a day that I will never forget, that was filled
1:20
Speaker 1: with love and joy and kindness, in the gospel.
1:23
Speaker 2: Take a listen.
1:25
Speaker 1: Today was I think maybe one of the most incredible
1:29
Speaker 1: things I've ever witnessed in my life. And I'm saying
1:32
Speaker 1: that going to memorial service. But Centata, I think you
1:36
Speaker 1: probably feel the exact same way that I do that
1:38
Speaker 1: this was a day where I feel blessed. I feel
1:40
Speaker 1: honored that we were able to be there, to be
1:42
Speaker 1: a part of it. I feel like I'm watching a
1:45
Speaker 1: revival take place that is so much bigger than politics,
1:50
Speaker 1: and I think what we've witnessed today was the start
1:54
Speaker 1: of something that could transform this country. They're now saying
1:57
Speaker 1: over a hundred million was number of streams coming out
2:02
Speaker 1: of this event, and well over two hundred thousand people
2:05
Speaker 1: showed up, the majority of them without a ticket to
2:07
Speaker 1: go to the memorial service.
2:09
Speaker 2: It was incredible.
2:11
Speaker 3: It was extraordinary.
2:12
Speaker 2: Man.
2:13
Speaker 3: It is right now, twelve nineteen am, Sunday night, early
2:17
Speaker 3: Monday morning. You and I spent the entire day in
2:20
Speaker 3: Arizona at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk, and I
2:24
Speaker 3: got to say, this was a powerful day. It was powerful.
2:28
Speaker 3: Number One, we were grieving our friend. Both you and
2:32
Speaker 3: I knew Charlie really well. I talked to him not
2:34
Speaker 3: many weeks ago. You know, I met him when he
2:39
Speaker 3: was eighteen years old. And the last two weeks have
2:43
Speaker 3: been a hard week. You and I both watched our
2:45
Speaker 3: friend murdered on live video online, and the agony we
2:51
Speaker 3: felt was felt without iperbole, by millions of Americans who
2:58
Speaker 3: Charlie had touched. There was grief, there was grieving, but
3:02
Speaker 3: I got to tell you, as much as there was
3:04
Speaker 3: grief and then there were certainly tears. There were tears
3:07
Speaker 3: for Erica, tears for his two children that will never
3:12
Speaker 3: know their daddy. But today the atmosphere, more than anything,
3:17
Speaker 3: was one of celebration. It was one of celebrating a
3:21
Speaker 3: life well lived. It was one of celebrating a legacy
3:24
Speaker 3: an example. You know, I got to say, none of
3:28
Speaker 3: us know when.
3:29
Speaker 4: We will go.
3:29
Speaker 3: We don't know if we'll be here tomorrow. We don't
3:32
Speaker 3: know if we'll be here in ten years and twenty years,
3:35
Speaker 3: in fifty years. But I will tell you there's not
3:39
Speaker 3: a one of us who wouldn't hope to be remembered
3:42
Speaker 3: the way Charlie was today. Yeah, I mean, what a
3:46
Speaker 3: life well lived and what a celebration. And you mentioned revival,
3:53
Speaker 3: that was a term that was used over and over
3:55
Speaker 3: and over again by speakers today, and there was a
3:59
Speaker 3: feel of there was a feel you know. I saw
4:03
Speaker 3: the Babylon Bee had a story today about the devil saying,
4:07
Speaker 3: uh oh, I went too far, And I gotta say
4:12
Speaker 3: it is amazing, you know. Earlier today, Charlie Kirk's producer
4:20
Speaker 3: of his podcast sent out a tweet and the tweet said,
4:25
Speaker 3: I was just told that we have more press interest
4:29
Speaker 3: in sunday celebration of Charlie Kirk's life and legacy than
4:34
Speaker 3: there is for the Super Bowl. The Gospel of Jesus
4:38
Speaker 3: Christ is about to be proclaimed to the largest audience
4:42
Speaker 3: in the history of humanity. To God be the Glory.
4:47
Speaker 3: And I got to say. A friend of mine who's
4:49
Speaker 3: a pastor, he texted that to me, and I just said, Amen,
4:51
Speaker 3: God is sovereign and God is good. And look, none
4:55
Speaker 3: of us know why God allowed this ranged killer to
5:01
Speaker 3: take Charlie's life, to take it too early, to take
5:04
Speaker 3: it at just age thirty one. But I have to say,
5:07
Speaker 3: is it is breathtaking. Number One, I think it is
5:11
Speaker 3: very likely that in the last two weeks more people
5:15
Speaker 3: have listened to Charlie Kirk than listened in his entire life.
5:21
Speaker 3: It has been amazing the penetration, and this was it did.
5:26
Speaker 3: It felt like a Billy Graham revival. And the degree
5:31
Speaker 3: to which you know, I'll tell you Friday night, I
5:35
Speaker 3: was at a youth summit in Texas and two to
5:40
Speaker 3: three thousand young people came out to it. The attendance
5:44
Speaker 3: more than doubled what it typically was, and it ended
5:47
Speaker 3: up being just a remembrance of Charlie Kirk. And I
5:50
Speaker 3: spoke at it. I'll tell you. At the beginning, a
5:55
Speaker 3: pastor preached and about two hundred young people gave their
5:59
Speaker 3: lives to cry at a gathering.
6:02
Speaker 2: Incredible.
6:02
Speaker 3: It's incredible in Texas on a Friday night, and that
6:08
Speaker 3: it was staggering. This you know, this was in the
6:12
Speaker 3: football stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. It's a huge stadium. People
6:16
Speaker 3: started showing up at four and four thirty in the
6:19
Speaker 3: morning to line up to get in. And if you
6:22
Speaker 3: were there, I ran into people who were there by
6:24
Speaker 3: eight am. They didn't get in. The program started at eleven.
6:28
Speaker 3: If you showed up at eight, you didn't make it in.
6:32
Speaker 3: And and and the over one hundred million views is
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Speaker 3: astonishing and powerful, and I think transformational. The Gospel was
6:46
Speaker 3: proclaimed to millions today, and I think a lot of
6:50
Speaker 3: people in the United States and across the world are
6:54
Speaker 3: listening to what is said and and are are moved.
6:59
Speaker 3: And you know, I'm reminded of Jesus in the New Testament.
7:01
Speaker 3: Gives the parallel of the parable, and gives the parable
7:04
Speaker 3: of sowing seeds, and sowing seeds is spreading the gospel.
7:08
Speaker 3: And some of the seeds fall on rocky soil. Uh,
7:12
Speaker 3: some of the seeds are eaten by birds. But some
7:15
Speaker 3: of the seeds fall in fertile ground, and and and
7:18
Speaker 3: they take root, and they bear fruit and and not
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Speaker 3: everyone who watched and listened to the service today is
7:27
Speaker 3: going to have their life transformed. But A but I
7:29
Speaker 3: think an astonishing number are and and I pray and
7:33
Speaker 3: I think you do too, that that that revival comes
7:36
Speaker 3: from this, that that that Charlie's death becomes a moment,
7:40
Speaker 3: particularly for young people, for young people to say, you
7:42
Speaker 3: know what, what he had? I want my life to
7:47
Speaker 3: I want that kind of piece. I want that satisfaction.
7:50
Speaker 3: I want the joy of getting married and having kids
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Speaker 3: and having a life where I'm a husband and a
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Speaker 3: father and and and I know that that that that
8:00
Speaker 3: God loves me, and I have a personal relationship with
8:03
Speaker 3: Jesus Christ. And I think Charlie's life was a powerful
8:07
Speaker 3: testament to that. But I think Charlie's death may have
8:10
Speaker 3: been an even more powerful testament to that.
8:13
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10:21
Speaker 1: I want to paint a picture for people that weren't there,
10:23
Speaker 1: so you understand. Many of you, we know, I'm sure
10:26
Speaker 1: watched online as we know from the number of streams.
10:30
Speaker 1: It's just incredible. But from the moment that I left Houston,
10:34
Speaker 1: you and I flew separately and I was flying in
10:38
Speaker 1: to when we touched down in Arizona, amazing grace broke
10:43
Speaker 1: out on the plane.
10:44
Speaker 3: And I was able to play that video because that
10:47
Speaker 3: video is beautiful, to describe it, paint the scene and
10:50
Speaker 3: then play the video.
10:51
Speaker 2: Yeah, we landed and it was an organic moment that
10:56
Speaker 2: you're on.
10:56
Speaker 3: A United flight.
10:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, this is not Southwest is the best way I
11:00
Speaker 1: can describe it. This is a United flight. This is
11:03
Speaker 1: not normal on a United flight, and it just started
11:08
Speaker 1: and and I want to play it for you because
11:10
Speaker 1: you're gonna hear the very end of what I what,
11:13
Speaker 1: what I was able to witness, which was just incredible,
11:16
Speaker 1: And I grabbed my phone out because I was I
11:20
Speaker 1: wanted to just share it. And it was as we
11:22
Speaker 1: landed and it was just people singing amazing grace on
11:25
Speaker 1: a United flight number one. What a testimony to to everyone.
11:31
Speaker 1: Incredible testimony from just a standpoint of the flight attendants
11:36
Speaker 1: and in the in the the there was there was
11:38
Speaker 1: I think it was pretty clear there was tears in
11:40
Speaker 1: the eyes of one of the pilots when we were
11:42
Speaker 1: walking off the plane and the people were singing, and
11:45
Speaker 1: I want to play it for you, and it went
11:47
Speaker 1: viral yesterday and then Fox News played it this morning
11:50
Speaker 1: when I was on. They put it up on Fox
11:52
Speaker 1: News dot com and it's hit millions and millions of views,
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Speaker 1: and that just tells you the power I think of
11:57
Speaker 1: of Charlie's legacy. But but listen to this on the plane.
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Speaker 1: It was amazing.
12:19
Speaker 3: For Charlie.
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Speaker 1: I mean, you can hear it there, and it was
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Speaker 1: it was a moment that I'm thankful I was able
12:29
Speaker 1: to capture on video.
12:31
Speaker 2: But that was the mood. And I think the other thing.
12:34
Speaker 1: You got up early this morning and you went to
12:38
Speaker 1: the stadium to do Maria's show. I got up early
12:40
Speaker 1: as well and was going to go do Fox beforehand.
12:44
Speaker 1: The number of people that were at the stadium without
12:48
Speaker 1: a ticket, that just on blind faith because they felt
12:52
Speaker 1: like they just needed to be there.
12:55
Speaker 2: They just went and they were going to get.
12:58
Speaker 3: Idiom six in the morning, and there was a line
13:02
Speaker 3: of people. It wasn't one or two, it was a
13:05
Speaker 3: steady line. And you know what, it looked like the
13:07
Speaker 3: Super Bowl. It looked like the Final Four or if
13:10
Speaker 3: you know, any major sporting event, except this was at
13:13
Speaker 3: six in the morning, and it was a constant line
13:16
Speaker 3: of people just walking to the stadium. They wanted to
13:20
Speaker 3: pay their respects to Charlie. They wanted to honor his legacy.
13:24
Speaker 3: They wanted to give thanks, give thanks for a life
13:27
Speaker 3: well lived, and and and that that was incredibly impactful.
13:34
Speaker 3: And I will say we heard a lot of really
13:37
Speaker 3: powerful remarks, a lineup of one after the other after
13:40
Speaker 3: the other. I will say, by far, the most impactful
13:44
Speaker 3: speech was from Erica Kirk, Charlie's widow, And and you
13:50
Speaker 3: and I we were sitting next to each other in
13:53
Speaker 3: the memorial and we both looked at each other and
13:56
Speaker 3: said the same thing. When she finished, we just said wow,
13:59
Speaker 3: like it was.
14:01
Speaker 2: It was.
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Speaker 3: It actually reminded me of years ago. If you remember
14:07
Speaker 3: Ben Carson's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast that he
14:10
Speaker 3: gave a speech or the Obama presidency, and it went
14:12
Speaker 3: viral nationally, and it it launched Ben Carson, and it
14:16
Speaker 3: it made him a national superstar. Erica's speech had had
14:22
Speaker 3: that power. And I think for a lot of people
14:26
Speaker 3: who had never seen her before that they were turning
14:28
Speaker 3: on their TV, they were opening their phone or their computer.
14:34
Speaker 3: The strength.
14:36
Speaker 5: It took.
14:38
Speaker 3: To give that speech less than two weeks after you've
14:41
Speaker 3: lost your husband, less than two weeks after you've lost
14:44
Speaker 3: the father of your kids, it boggles the mind. And
14:48
Speaker 3: you could see her before she went up, just stopping
14:51
Speaker 3: and just just praying, God give me the strength to
14:54
Speaker 3: make it through this, and and and and she was
14:57
Speaker 3: so openly relying on on on God's strength. That's part
15:02
Speaker 3: of what made it so unbelievably powerful. I'll tell you
15:05
Speaker 3: at the beginning, she made a really important point, a
15:09
Speaker 3: point distinguishing what the reaction was across American across the
15:14
Speaker 3: world to Charlie's murder compared to something like like George
15:19
Speaker 3: Floyd being killed and the riots and everything that played out.
15:23
Speaker 3: Give a listen to what Erica Kirk said on this point.
15:26
Speaker 6: Most of all, God's mercy and God's love have been
15:29
Speaker 6: revealed to me these past ten days after Charlie's assassination.
15:35
Speaker 4: We didn't see violence, we didn't see rioting, we didn't
15:54
Speaker 4: see revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband, oh, he's
16:00
Speaker 4: afraid he would see in this country.
16:03
Speaker 5: We saw revival.
16:10
Speaker 2: You know.
16:11
Speaker 1: When she walked up there, I was choked up. You were,
16:16
Speaker 1: and I think everyone every tears in their eyes. Yeah,
16:19
Speaker 1: it was how is she going to do this? You
16:21
Speaker 1: and I had the conversation. I don't know if I
16:23
Speaker 1: could have done that. And we do this for a living.
16:26
Speaker 2: I mean, you and I speak a lot.
16:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's part of I think, just watching God work
16:33
Speaker 1: in that room. I walked to that room earlier in
16:35
Speaker 1: the day, you and I. You came back after Maria
16:39
Speaker 1: and I left early because we knew it was just
16:40
Speaker 1: there were so many people there. I abandoned the car
16:43
Speaker 1: and walked a mile and a half just trying to
16:45
Speaker 1: get into the stadium and seeing all the people that
16:47
Speaker 1: weren't going to get in, and they were joyful, they
16:50
Speaker 1: weren't angry, they were praying.
16:51
Speaker 2: I saw groups holding him.
16:53
Speaker 3: There's a whole second stadium filled with people watching it
16:55
Speaker 3: that we're just watching it on TV.
16:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I walked in.
16:59
Speaker 1: I finally got inside and was meeting one of the
17:02
Speaker 1: Fox producers to get down to the risers, and they
17:05
Speaker 1: were singing the worship music that you and I hear
17:07
Speaker 1: at church when we go on Sundays before the pastor speaks.
17:11
Speaker 1: I literally on Fox and I'm not a crier, but
17:16
Speaker 1: like talking about now it's even because this has been
17:18
Speaker 1: an incredible and a sad but amazing day. I told
17:23
Speaker 1: them on air, I was like, I've never felt in
17:26
Speaker 1: my life the Holy Spirit's presence and the way that
17:29
Speaker 1: I felt it today. Ever, and I'm forty three and
17:34
Speaker 1: I've been to some pretty cool, amazing Christian events, promise
17:38
Speaker 1: keepers and different things that you've been to. It was
17:42
Speaker 1: a feeling I will never forget. And it was very
17:46
Speaker 1: clear that God's presence were there. And if you were
17:48
Speaker 1: in that room, and I hope if you were watching
17:50
Speaker 1: it on TV, you felt it too, because what she
17:53
Speaker 1: was able to do was by the grace of God,
17:56
Speaker 1: who gave her the power and the strength to do it,
17:58
Speaker 1: because on your own, no one could do that.
18:02
Speaker 3: Absolutely that there was one portion of her speech that
18:06
Speaker 3: I think will go down as the most memorable, the
18:09
Speaker 3: most consequential, and the most profound, and I want to
18:13
Speaker 3: want you to just just to listen to it, because,
18:15
Speaker 3: to be honest, if you heard nothing else that happened
18:19
Speaker 3: today at Charlie Kirk's memorial service, hear these two minutes,
18:24
Speaker 3: because this was the entirety of the service boiled down
18:27
Speaker 3: in two minutes.
18:33
Speaker 5: My husband, Charlie.
18:37
Speaker 6: He wanted to save.
18:41
Speaker 4: Young men.
18:44
Speaker 6: Just like the one who took his life, that young man,
19:07
Speaker 6: that young.
19:07
Speaker 5: Man on the cross.
19:10
Speaker 4: Our Savior said, Father, forgive them, for they not know.
19:19
Speaker 5: What they do. That man, that young man, I forgive him.
20:19
Speaker 6: I forgive him because it was what Christ did and
20:24
Speaker 6: is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate.
20:30
Speaker 5: Is not hate.
20:32
Speaker 6: The answer we know from the Gospel is love and
20:35
Speaker 6: always love, love for our enemies, and love for those
20:42
Speaker 6: who persecute us.
20:46
Speaker 1: You and I were there on the second row watching
20:49
Speaker 1: those words, and you and I talked about it afterwards.
20:53
Speaker 1: I don't know if I could have done that that quickly.
20:56
Speaker 1: I know God says that we're supposed to forgive those
21:00
Speaker 1: who have wronged us. But you want to talk about
21:04
Speaker 1: a ministry to the world in that moment. If you
21:10
Speaker 1: are not a Christian, you have to be asking yourself
21:13
Speaker 1: a question. What is it that she has that I
21:16
Speaker 1: don't How could she forgive in this moment? And why
21:20
Speaker 1: would Charlie want her to forgive after what happened to Charlie.
21:24
Speaker 1: It doesn't mean that we don't want justice, but wow.
21:29
Speaker 3: Look when she said that, I had tears in my eyes,
21:32
Speaker 3: You had tears in your eyes. Every one of us
21:35
Speaker 3: one hundred thousand people had tears in her eyes. And
21:40
Speaker 3: when she started on that, when she referenced Jesus on
21:43
Speaker 3: the Cross, I knew where it was going. I knew
21:47
Speaker 3: what she was planning to say, and she was holding
21:49
Speaker 3: my breath for because look, you just you and I
21:53
Speaker 3: both had this conversation spontaneously walking out. To be honest,
21:58
Speaker 3: I don't think I could say that I would want to,
22:00
Speaker 3: it would be the right thing to do to do,
22:03
Speaker 3: I like, I cannot imagine being in the situation she
22:08
Speaker 3: is in and getting those words out, not just breaking down,
22:14
Speaker 3: not breaking down with rage, breaking down with tears and
22:17
Speaker 3: in it was it was the Holy Spirit that helped
22:19
Speaker 3: her get that out, because there's no there is not
22:23
Speaker 3: a human strength that can say that. And one of
22:28
Speaker 3: the amazing things, I mean, we talked a minute ago
22:30
Speaker 3: about this being one of, if not the largest presentation
22:34
Speaker 3: of the Gospel in history. What you just said, you
22:38
Speaker 3: and I talked about there are millions of people who
22:40
Speaker 3: watch this who are not Christians who have to have said,
22:44
Speaker 3: where did that come from? I don't understand. Why would
22:48
Speaker 3: you forgive someone who murdered your husband? Yeah, and that
22:53
Speaker 3: I hope and pray and believe that it caused many
22:57
Speaker 3: people to say, you know, maybe I should ask a
23:00
Speaker 3: few more questions about about Jesus. Maybe maybe I should
23:03
Speaker 3: go read the Bible. Maybe did Jesus really say on
23:06
Speaker 3: the cross, Father, forgive them for they know not what
23:09
Speaker 3: they do? Why would he say that when they were
23:12
Speaker 3: murdering him. That's what Jesus said as he was nailed
23:15
Speaker 3: to the cross, as he was hanging there dying. Yeah,
23:19
Speaker 3: Jesus asked God to forgive the people who killed him.
23:24
Speaker 3: And it was you know, I'll tell you. I saw
23:28
Speaker 3: on Twitter a tweet from a woman named Sanna IBRAHEMI
23:34
Speaker 3: and I don't don't know her, but this this tweet
23:36
Speaker 3: struck struck me. I'm just gonna read it to you.
23:39
Speaker 3: I retweeted it. I listened to Erica Kirk's full speech
23:43
Speaker 3: at the memorial, and I want to share a few
23:45
Speaker 3: thoughts that came to me while live streaming the event.
23:48
Speaker 3: This is not political. First, I should say that I
23:52
Speaker 3: grew up as a Muslim in a Muslim country. I
23:55
Speaker 3: don't know enough about Christianity to say if what I
23:57
Speaker 3: witnessed is rooted in faith or culture. But what struck
24:03
Speaker 3: me most is how, even though death is heavy and
24:06
Speaker 3: this was by nature a sad occasion, the entire event
24:10
Speaker 3: carried a celebratory spirit that honored life. That contrast hit
24:15
Speaker 3: me deeply. In Islam, even though we believe that good
24:18
Speaker 3: people go to heaven, the relationship with God is taught
24:21
Speaker 3: through fear. Funerals are overwhelmingly sad, often filled with warnings
24:26
Speaker 3: of the terrifying first night in the grave. Growing up
24:30
Speaker 3: hearing that and then witnessing people's celebrate life, speak of
24:34
Speaker 3: God's love and remember someone through the impact he had
24:39
Speaker 3: on others, it felt so refreshing and positive. Second, I
24:44
Speaker 3: was profoundly moved by Erica Kirk's words. I cannot fathom
24:49
Speaker 3: the strength it takes to stand and deliver such a
24:52
Speaker 3: meaningful speech after losing the love of your life. But
24:56
Speaker 3: even more than that, the grace it takes to forgive
24:59
Speaker 3: the very perse person who destroyed your world. I cannot
25:04
Speaker 3: imagine myself standing on a stage sending love to those
25:08
Speaker 3: who cheered your husband's murder, or inviting others to spread
25:13
Speaker 3: God's love in response, because, as she said, we do
25:18
Speaker 3: not respond to hate with hate. That is powerful beyond words. Again,
25:27
Speaker 3: I am ignorant when it comes to Christianity, but if
25:30
Speaker 3: this is what it truly embodies, then I am envious
25:34
Speaker 3: of those who get to experience that feeling. I think
25:39
Speaker 3: this young lady is not alone, and I think that
25:42
Speaker 3: message touched millions. And I got to say it was
25:45
Speaker 3: an incredible privilege to be there and witness it firsthand
25:50
Speaker 3: and be part of I think, what is a significant
25:54
Speaker 3: moment in the history of America and maybe the history
25:57
Speaker 3: of the.
25:57
Speaker 1: World to take a moment and I want to talk
26:01
Speaker 1: to you real quick about what you can do to
26:04
Speaker 1: help the people in Israel. It was nearly two years
26:08
Speaker 1: ago that the terrorists murdered more than twelve hundred innocent
26:12
Speaker 1: Israelis and they took two hundred and fifty hostages. Today,
26:16
Speaker 1: it seems as if the cries of the dead and
26:18
Speaker 1: dying have been drowned out by the shouts of anti
26:21
Speaker 1: Semitism and just pure hatred, not just in America but
26:24
Speaker 1: around the world. And the most brutal attack on Jewish
26:27
Speaker 1: people happened. It happened since the Holocaust, and now it's
26:32
Speaker 1: like they're trying to act like it never happened. Now,
26:35
Speaker 1: this is where it is important for us to stand
26:37
Speaker 1: with the people in Israel. It's a movement of love
26:41
Speaker 1: and support for the people of Israel, and this is
26:44
Speaker 1: where I want you to get involved. It is called
26:47
Speaker 1: Flags of Fellowship. It's being organized by the International Fellowship
26:52
Speaker 1: of Christians and Jews. On October fifth, you can stand
26:57
Speaker 1: with Israel and the victims proudly. Just a few weeks away,
27:01
Speaker 1: millions across America will prayerfully plant an Israeli flag in
27:06
Speaker 1: honor and solidarity with the victims of October seventh, twenty
27:10
Speaker 1: twenty three, and stand with their grieving families. You can
27:15
Speaker 1: be a part of this movement as well. And that's
27:18
Speaker 1: what I love about what IFCJ does. They're making sure
27:22
Speaker 1: that the world knows there are lots of people of
27:25
Speaker 1: faith in this country and friends and advocates for Israel.
27:29
Speaker 1: They're going to stand with them, you can get more
27:31
Speaker 1: information about how you can join the Flags of Fellowship movement,
27:35
Speaker 1: including your church. There are going to be countless church
27:39
Speaker 1: around the country. They're going to plant flags as well.
27:42
Speaker 1: So all you have to do to get involved with
27:44
Speaker 1: Flags of Fellowship movement is go to IFCJ dot org.
27:49
Speaker 1: That's IFCJ dot org Stand with Israel on October fifth,
27:54
Speaker 1: it's just a few weeks away. And if your church
27:56
Speaker 1: you think would want to be involved, you can also
27:58
Speaker 1: find out more about how to get your church to
28:01
Speaker 1: be involved on a special Sunday at I have CJ
28:04
Speaker 1: dot org. That's if CJ dot org. One of the
28:09
Speaker 1: things I think that is so cool that came out
28:11
Speaker 1: of this that is just something that no one could
28:17
Speaker 1: have planned, is how many people are now sharing their
28:22
Speaker 1: own faith and sharing the gospel. You and I have
28:26
Speaker 1: talked more about our faith on this podcast in the
28:29
Speaker 1: last two weeks than we have ever before. And it's
28:32
Speaker 1: not that we're afraid to talk about our faith, but
28:34
Speaker 1: we talk a lot about what's happening in the world
28:36
Speaker 1: in politics, JD Vance said.
28:39
Speaker 3: And that was something really profound. JD said as he
28:42
Speaker 3: said that he often felt uncomfortable talking about faith. And
28:45
Speaker 3: he made the same comment that he's talked more about
28:48
Speaker 3: faith in the last two weeks than he has probably
28:51
Speaker 3: in his entire life.
28:52
Speaker 1: And I mean even this morning. I had two times.
28:56
Speaker 1: I was on Fox this morning before the before it started,
29:00
Speaker 1: and the entire conversation was not about politics. The entire
29:03
Speaker 1: conversation was about faith. Yeah, that his life being taken
29:09
Speaker 1: has given the opportunity for all of us to share faith,
29:12
Speaker 1: and I think in a more bold way, in a
29:13
Speaker 1: more proud way, and a more I'm not afraid to
29:15
Speaker 1: share my faith. I think sometimes I think I'm in
29:18
Speaker 1: the world of politics and that's maybe not my place
29:20
Speaker 1: to be doing that as much. I'm going to change
29:23
Speaker 1: my mentality on that, I think forever moving forward.
29:26
Speaker 3: And I can think of a very few sentiments that would
29:28
Speaker 3: make Charlie happier than that.
29:30
Speaker 1: Yeah, And it was the whole time, it was about faith.
29:32
Speaker 1: If you look at today, I also think one of
29:35
Speaker 1: the most incredible things was you and I were sitting
29:37
Speaker 1: there with the most powerful people in the world, certainly
29:40
Speaker 1: in the conservative movement, where we're all in the political world,
29:45
Speaker 1: and the entire thing was about God. I've never seen
29:48
Speaker 1: that before. I've never been a part of that before.
29:52
Speaker 3: No, And at the very end, President Trump spoke and
29:59
Speaker 3: he gave I think, very remarks, But I want you
30:01
Speaker 3: to listen to what he said, in particular about Erica
30:03
Speaker 3: and her testimony. Here here, give a listen to Charlie's
30:07
Speaker 3: incredible and beautiful widow.
30:10
Speaker 5: Erica.
30:12
Speaker 7: We know the weight of this monumental loss is almost unbearable.
30:17
Speaker 2: But even in the midst of heartache, pain too great to.
30:21
Speaker 3: Even fathom, you have somehow found the strength and deep
30:26
Speaker 3: faith to be a comfort to millions and millions of people.
30:31
Speaker 7: And thank you very much, Erica, Thank you very much.
30:39
Speaker 1: You and I have seen Donald Trump give a lot
30:41
Speaker 1: of speeches. This was one of the most I think, somber,
30:46
Speaker 1: sincere and one of the most incredible speeches I think
30:50
Speaker 1: by Donald Trump that had nothing to really do with him.
30:53
Speaker 3: Well, and President Trump knew Charlie.
30:55
Speaker 2: Well, Charlie has been a lot at least rattled by it.
30:59
Speaker 3: Charlie Charlie in the twenty sixteen campaign, was Don Junior's
31:07
Speaker 3: body man. He traveled with Don Junior all over the
31:10
Speaker 3: country and Charlie helped mobilize young people for the twenty
31:14
Speaker 3: sixteen election. He helped mobilize young people for the twenty
31:17
Speaker 3: twenty election. He played a really, really integral part in
31:21
Speaker 3: the victory in twenty twenty four. And President Trump has
31:24
Speaker 3: spent a lot of time with Charlie Kirk. Just about
31:28
Speaker 3: everyone in the White House has. I mean, it was
31:30
Speaker 3: one of the things the entire White House has shaken.
31:32
Speaker 3: This is not some distant person they don't know. This
31:37
Speaker 3: touched almost everyone who works in the Trump administration had
31:46
Speaker 3: connections to Charlie, had personal connections, and they were shaken
31:50
Speaker 3: by it. And you know, one of the bits of
31:53
Speaker 3: news that broke this week that I thought it was
31:55
Speaker 3: a small snippet, but it encapsulated who Charlie was well.
32:01
Speaker 3: And Van Jones, you and I both know well he's
32:05
Speaker 3: very much a man of the left and maybe even
32:07
Speaker 3: far left. He's not someone who you would typically envision
32:12
Speaker 3: saying nice things about Charlie Kirk. But I want you
32:15
Speaker 3: to listen to what he said in the last few
32:17
Speaker 3: days about his last interaction with Charlie Kirk.
32:20
Speaker 7: Charlie Kirk and I were not friends at all. In fact,
32:25
Speaker 7: the last week of his life, we were beef and hard,
32:27
Speaker 7: beefing online, beefing on air, but the day before he died,
32:32
Speaker 7: he did something that shocked me. He sent me a
32:35
Speaker 7: personal message calling for a personal dialogue, wanted me to
32:38
Speaker 7: come on the show. He said we could be gentlemen together.
32:41
Speaker 7: He said we could deal with our disagreements agreeably. And
32:48
Speaker 7: in the past week and a half, just watching people
32:50
Speaker 7: talk about civil wars and censorship and all this stuff
32:52
Speaker 7: coming out of his death, I just thought it was
32:55
Speaker 7: important to let people know, don't put that on Charlie Kirk,
33:00
Speaker 7: because the last day of his life he was reaching
33:03
Speaker 7: out to have not more censorship, more conversation, more dialogue
33:08
Speaker 7: with somebody who honestly was one of his adversaries. Me
33:12
Speaker 7: and I just wanted to share that with the world,
33:15
Speaker 7: and I hope that maybe it might help somebody on
33:21
Speaker 7: both sides deal with issues more like you did.
33:25
Speaker 1: Then putting that out there immediately brought me to today. You
33:30
Speaker 1: and I were sitting there and we looked over to
33:33
Speaker 1: the right of us, and you leaned over and you said,
33:36
Speaker 1: there's Elon. And several weeks or months ago, Charlie had
33:40
Speaker 1: said that he wanted Donald Trump and Elon to make up. Yep.
33:45
Speaker 1: We then a few minutes later see Elon in the
33:47
Speaker 1: box with President Trump. They hugged the President, patted him
33:52
Speaker 1: on the chest, and he tweeted out a picture Elon
33:55
Speaker 1: did of them talking, and all it said was for Charlie,
34:01
Speaker 1: I mean, you want to talk about bringing people back together,
34:04
Speaker 1: that's incredible.
34:06
Speaker 3: I will say I respect Van Jones for putting that out.
34:09
Speaker 3: You know Van better than I do. But he didn't
34:11
Speaker 3: have to put that out. He didn't have to say that.
34:14
Speaker 3: And I do think it reflects who Charlie was, and
34:18
Speaker 3: I think the entire memorial today reflected. It was a
34:27
Speaker 3: celebration of his life, and it was a proclamation of
34:30
Speaker 3: the Gospel and that I'm really grateful to have been
34:36
Speaker 3: friends with Charlie. I'm really grateful to have a chance
34:40
Speaker 3: to be there for the celebration because I think it
34:43
Speaker 3: is going to have really profound impacts on our country.
34:47
Speaker 1: I think we're going to end up finding out down
34:49
Speaker 1: the road that today was one of the biggest days,
34:52
Speaker 1: not in politics, with the biggest people in politics in
34:55
Speaker 1: a room, but one of the biggest days for young
34:58
Speaker 1: men and women accepting Christ. And I'm learning about the
35:01
Speaker 1: Lord from this horrific moment in our history. And I
35:05
Speaker 1: think you look at that bring all these people together
35:09
Speaker 1: the way that he was doing it. I think it's
35:12
Speaker 1: going to change the way we have dialogue and conversation.
35:14
Speaker 1: I think my demeanor's probably gonna be different. I'm still
35:18
Speaker 1: going to fight the good fight, and I'm still going
35:19
Speaker 1: to fight hard, but I want to have better conversations
35:22
Speaker 1: while doing it. I think everybody's temperature is going to
35:25
Speaker 1: change a little bit and how we interact the way
35:28
Speaker 1: that Charlie did it. And I left there today, and
35:32
Speaker 1: I don't know. I want to ask you this as
35:34
Speaker 1: we wrap. I left there today more hopeful for the
35:38
Speaker 1: future of this country, yes, than I have been in decades,
35:43
Speaker 1: and more hopeful for the younger generation in this country
35:49
Speaker 1: that they're going to see the light because I have
35:51
Speaker 1: been very worried for quite some time. It's part of
35:54
Speaker 1: the reason why I do this is that we have
35:56
Speaker 1: lost an entire generation to the radical left. I think
36:00
Speaker 1: we are seeing a very quick pendulum shift that only
36:05
Speaker 1: God could create and put people in a place to
36:08
Speaker 1: do it.
36:11
Speaker 3: Absolutely. You know, I'm reminded of the Scripture Second Chronicles
36:16
Speaker 3: seven fourteen. If my people who are called by my
36:20
Speaker 3: name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face
36:25
Speaker 3: and turn from their wicked ways. Then I will hear
36:28
Speaker 3: from heaven, and I will forgive their sins, and I
36:33
Speaker 3: will heal their land. That has been my prayer for
36:39
Speaker 3: a long time, and I think today was in a
36:46
Speaker 3: very real sense a great many people in America calling
36:51
Speaker 3: out for God to hear our prayer and to heal
36:55
Speaker 3: our land. And I pray that that is the outcome
37:00
Speaker 3: the path we are on, that we see revival. Our
37:04
Speaker 3: country needs it.
37:05
Speaker 1: Don't forget share this podcast please with your family and
37:08
Speaker 1: your friends wherever they are, and I will see you
37:11
Speaker 1: back here tomorrow.