I'll be honest with you, this morning, this message
was the single most difficult message to start
that I have written in the last 20 years. On
Wednesday night, when the elder team decided
that we should address the events of the week,
I honestly thought it was going to be very easy.
I sat down and I started typing like a madman
on my laptop. The thoughts in my head just flowed
out through my fingers. but they weren't in any
organized fashion at all, just lots and lots
of thoughts that were coming to my head as I
was watching the wickedness flow across my newsfeed
from the previous few days. And then came the
moment where I said, I've got to start organizing
these thoughts, and that's when the struggle
really came. For hours, I just sat there and
I stared at the screen. I was feeling this incredible
heaviness of heart, and I kept thinking, where
do I start? How do I make sense of the world
that we live in? And I know I'm not alone in
this. I talked to so many of you guys over the
last couple of days, and the feelings have been
raw and emotional. You may have even found yourself
crying over the life of somebody you never even
met before and not even really understand why.
And it's okay. I was right there with you. And
for some reason that I can't quite put my finger
on yet, it feels like this is a pivotal moment
in... the direction of our country, and maybe
even wider than that, perhaps even a change of
perspective across the broader Western world.
We don't know for sure. Only God does, and time
will tell. Here's what we do know. The flagrant
evil that exists in the heart of natural man,
unredeemed man, is a very real thing. Don't let
anybody ever tell you otherwise. Driven by the
God of this age and the father of lies, it's
an evil that never sleeps. It never slows down
and it never stops trying to steal, kill, and
destroy. And we found that it gets especially
aggressive when those who are driven by a hatred
for God, a hatred for truth, begin to feel like
they might be losing the fight. They might be
losing ground. When evil is confronted and cornered,
it becomes especially dangerous. And it's likely
to lash out in deadly ways. By the way, I'm not
just talking about Charlie Kirk, although that's
the freshest and most shocking example in our
minds, and I'll come back to him in a moment.
But there's so many more things we could talk
about this morning, so many more mind -numbing
wickedness happening in the world out there.
I've been thinking about the gruesome stabbing
of the young Ukrainian woman, Irina Zerutska,
who was just riding a train in Charlotte. earlier
in the week, murdered by a career criminal who
had been jailed and released 14 times. 14 times
he'd been arrested, jailed, and then released
before he committed this heinous act. And for
no other reason other than what he himself said
on the security video because of the color of
her skin. This was a young woman who fled a war
zone and came to the United States to feel safe.
And I can't shake seeing the video of it. I wish
I hadn't seen it. The still photos of her terrified
face as she slowly realizes what has happened
to her. When she realizes that she's about to
die alone and that nobody on that train is coming
to her aid. As a father, as a girl dad, I can't
tell you. How hard that was to watch. I wept
over it. I wanted so badly to be on that train
to protect her. And at the very least to comfort
her and pray with her as she bled to death. There's
more. I have in mind this couple. A couple in
their mid -70s. Frank and Maureen Alton were
their names. Lived in New York. Two kind souls
who opened their door to a man who knocked on
it. saying that he needed their help. And this
man who had a rap sheet of 30 years worth of
crimes, including sex offenses, took advantage
of their kindness and gained entry into their
home. And there he proceeded to tie them up,
torture them, and stab them to death before setting
their house on fire. And when the home's fire
alarm system went off, notifying the local fire
department, their son. A city paramedic had to
arrive on the scene and discover the bodies of
his burned parents. That happened this week.
Just six days ago, on the outskirts of Jerusalem,
two Palestinian terrorists from the West Bank
pulled up to a bus stop and randomly started
shooting everybody in their line of sight, spraying
bullets in every direction, killing six, including
two rabbis, wounding another 12. And for what
reason? Because they were Jews. And if you think,
well, that's on the other side of the world.
Why should we care? Not only are those six souls
too valuable to dismiss, but you should know
that same bus route is the route that our own
Miles and Zariah are on each and every week.
Pray for them. Pray for their safety. In the
past 48 hours, I've been reminded over and over
I knew I was not going to get through this. Over
and over again of the worship lyrics that we
so often sing together, do you feel the world
is broken? And the answer is, we do. Do you feel
the shadows deepen? We do. Do you get a sense
that the creation is groaning under the weight
of sin? And on weeks like this, we long for an
end to the struggle. We long for Christ to return.
To put things in order. Grab your Bibles. We
started our time this morning and our call to
worship in John 15. Let's open there and look
at that passage once again. John 15, verses 18
to 21. I know, guys, I know this message started
out dark. It's gonna get darker. But I wanna
encourage you to stick with me because it's gonna
end in joy. Will you do that? John 15, the context
here is very simple. In light of his coming arrest,
Jesus is beginning to equip his disciples for
a future where he will no longer physically be
with them. He says in verse 18, if the world
hates you, you know that it has hated me before
it hated you. If you were of the world, the world
would love its own. But because you're not of
the world, but I chose you out of the world,
because of this, the world hates you. Remember
the word that I said to you, a slave is not greater
than his master. If they persecuted me, they
will also persecute you. If they kept my word,
they will keep yours also. But all these things
they will do to you for my namesake, because
they do not know the one who sent me. And so
we learn here that in the... In the immediate
aftermath of these prophetic statements by the
Lord, the world did indeed grow in their hatred
for his disciples. And bridging the time gap,
we can see a secondary application, that if you
and I are faithful and are witness for Christ
in the midst of a world that hates us, we should
expect it. Jesus warned us to expect it. Let
me say it again, expect to be hated. Why? Because
the world hates the Christ of Scripture. They
don't hate the Christ who they cherry pick from
to fit their own demands. They hate the fullness
of the Christ of Scripture who spoke the truth
about God's law, who spoke about the penalty
for sin. That's what they hate. And when you
step back and you look at the two kingdoms that
are active in creation, on the one hand, the
kingdom of God, on the other, the system of this
world that does not know God, that is what that
system is known for. It's known for hatred. So
as Adam said earlier, we shouldn't be surprised.
We shouldn't be shocked by this. When a Charlie
Kirk exposes the sin and depravity of those on
the left, even while doing it with a smile on
his face and with sound logic in a... what you
would call a very friendly debate format, what's
really happening in that moment is the enemy's
being exposed. The lies are being uncovered.
The foolishness is being shown for what it is,
and in response, the serpent hisses, and he plans
his counterattacks. Jesus said, look, if the
world loves their own, And you just go along
with them, they're gonna love you too. But for
the true believer who lives out his faith, who
speaks boldly, they will hate such a man or woman
because the light of Christ shines through them.
Jesus said this, right? It causes a reaction.
John chapter three says, this is the judgment
that the light has come into the world. But men
love the darkness rather than the light. For
their deeds were evil, that's why. For everyone
who does evil hates the light, does not come
to the light. for fear that his deeds will be
exposed. They know that. It's written on their
heart. They know it. So friends, it's September
2025, and I'm here to tell you, evil is trying
to advance in our world, and we cannot ignore
it because the battle has come to our doorstep.
And its target is you. I know that's shocking
for evangelicals who've been around for 40, 50
years. Evil's target is you and me. And we better
start understanding that. Two things I'll share
with you. And listen, as I say this, this is
not my goal to scare you today. It's not my goal
to make you paranoid. It's just to warn you that
if the events of this week haven't awakened you,
you need to start renewing your mind about the
spiritual battle that has always been raging
around you, even if you didn't acknowledge it.
Truth be told, that is a battle that started
in Genesis 3. And then it got more intense at
the cross and at the empty tomb. We've been fighting
this fight our entire lives. That's why Paul
said, you've got to put on your spiritual armor.
But many of us, and listen, I'll admit, I'm guilty
of this too. We have brushed it off because we
live in America. It's not that bad here. Always
thinking, oh, the fight's somewhere out there.
Well, guess what? It's not out there anymore.
It's here today. And really, it's across all
Western civilization, and we cannot stick our
heads in the sand any longer. I'm in my early
60s right now, so I can tell you there once was
a time in America where we had a stable Christian
foundation that made it possible to debate ideas
rather than hurl threats at each other, to use
actual ideas and words, not knives and rifles.
There once was a time in America, 40, 50 years
ago, where folks on the right and the left were
not that far apart. They were minor differences
that could be debated in an atmosphere of mutual
respect. I don't have to tell you, that day is
long gone. The world's become much more dangerous.
It's all been replaced now by outrage and anger
and lies, and now, as we've seen, deadly intent.
So two things you should know. Number one, they
murdered Charlie Kirk. for theological and practical
positions, for the most part, that we agree with.
He was murdered for things that you and I generally
agree with. Let that sink in. You have to understand
this. No matter what people say, Charlie Kirk
was not some kind of radical right person. He
was very much a mainstream Christian conservative.
What do I mean by that? Well, he was staunchly
pro -life. He boldly declared that two -parent
households are the best thing for children. He
wouldn't affirm same -sex marriage. He was a
loyal defender of the Second Amendment and gun
owners. He didn't believe that minors should
be given cross -sex hormones. He thought people
claiming to be trans should be redirected towards
their God -given biology. He was against illegal
immigration, but for legal immigration. He said
that Israel had a right to exist and should eliminate
Hamas for the good of the region. He affirmed
the biblical roles of men and women in marriage.
And for those things, he was killed. Those are
not extreme or irrational positions to take.
In fact, I agree with all of them. That's me,
and maybe that's you as well. Yet the mantra
that you heard, and you saw this all over the
news, all over social media, was this. Charlie
Kirk preached hate. Did you catch that? He preached
bigotry and division. He was a fascist. He was
a Nazi. He was a homophobe, a transphobe, a Christian
nationalist, and a white supremacist. They got
all of that from those positions I just shared
with you. And in a leftist mind where they believe,
literally, words are violence. It's fully appropriate
in their minds to respond to a Charlie Kirk with
violence. After all, wouldn't you physically
attack a true fascist? Wouldn't you physically
attack a true Nazi? That's the thinking. And
the sad irony is this. In part, fascism is literally
defined as one who suppresses the opposition
or dissent, which is exactly what the shooter
did when he silenced Charlie Kirk. What that
shooter did was peak fascism. But the fact is,
progressive leftism is a fanatical religion.
We have to understand, this is a battle of faith
traditions. Progressive leftism is a fanatical
religion, and it has many illogical zealots.
The pro -Palestine movement is a fanatical religion.
The trans movement is a fanatical religion. The
anti -gun movement is a fanatical religion. And
most of them cannot be rationally argued with.
How do you talk to someone who, when you say,
I support the Second Amendment so that I can
defend my family, they translate that as, you're
fine with kids dying in school shootings. How
do you talk to that person? How do you debate
with somebody when you say, I think children
who think they're trans should be helped towards
identifying with their biological sex, they translate
that as, you want all gay and trans people to
be put in camps. I've seen that from prominent
voices. How do you debate with somebody that
when you say Israel has the right to defend itself
and make war against those who attack it first,
they translate that as, You support bombing hospitals
and killing children and committing genocide
in Gaza. This is quite literally what Romans
1 describes. Those who exchange the truth about
God for a lie then become futile in their speculations,
their foolish hearts get darkened, and thinking
they're wise, They become fools instead, and
God gives them over to a depraved mind. That's
the type of thinking we're seeing in our world
today. And you have to know this. Each of these
progressive causes is filled with adherents who
are far more zealous than your average worshiper
in any church. These people are willing to kill
for their beliefs. We've seen it. The problem
that Charlie had and why he was targeted is simply
this. He was effective at what he was doing.
He was making a difference. He was brilliant
in his planning, his ability to communicate,
just obvious common sense truths in a very logical
fashion. I didn't agree with everything he said.
There were things he said I would not have put
it that way. But you cannot argue that he came
across as reasonable and energetic and joyful.
And the average fair -minded person out there
said, that's a guy that's hard to dislike. But
he was going into the enemy's lair, wasn't he?
University campuses. And he was winning arguments.
And he was winning hearts. He was drawing young
men and women out of progressive leftism. They
said he was using hate speech, but actually he
was just using speech that they hated. And he
was confident in his faith. Early on, he didn't
talk much about his faith, but in the last couple
years, he became very bold. And every time he
was out there, he rooted what he was saying in
the gospel, talking openly about his faith. And
the enemy can't have that. And that's why he
was taken out. The second thing you have to know
is that Charlie Kirk may have been killed by
a single gunman, but many, many, many of our
fellow Americans wanted him dead. for expressing
those opinions and for exposing the fallacies
of the left. How many of you guys have seen the
TikTok videos celebrating his death? If you haven't
seen them yet, don't look. It will shock you
to your core. There just aren't words for it.
Over and over again, he deserved this. He deserved
to be murdered. For speaking as he does. Oh,
thoughts and prayers, they mockingly say. Someone
should take out his wife, too. And that's the
mild stuff. I won't even share some of the more
vile things that have come across social media.
It'll chill you to the bone to see those posts.
Literally tens of thousands of Americans dancing
on his grave. And by the way, those are only
the ones stupid enough to film themselves. How
many more feel that way but didn't film it? 10
times more? 20 times more? Is it possible that
there's hundreds of thousands of Americans on
the left that believe you and I would deserve
it if we were murdered for holding biblical positions
as we do? How many? How many more assassins are
out there? Ready to be sobered? There are 19
million university students in our country. The
latest data from surveys show that one out of
every three college students believes that physical
violence is an appropriate response to what they
believe is hate speech. Do the math on that.
That's more than six million young Americans
who would laugh and celebrate if you or I were
beaten or worse based on our Christian values.
And catch this, of the tens or even hundreds
of thousands of social media accounts out there
celebrating this assassination, they're not all
college students. Some of them are adults who
have no excuse for just being young and stupid.
Plenty of adults, and not just pink -haired baristas
with a bullring in their nose. You know, those
ones are obvious. We see those ones. But this
is so shocking. It's the highly committed liberal
rank and file. who are saying these things. Get
this, teachers. The number one group of people
dancing on Charlie Kirk's grave are teachers.
And then university professors and lawyers and
pilots and government workers and healthcare
professionals. So these are the people out there
that teach your kids. who are entrenched in our
institutions, who say they'll care for us when
we come to the doctor, but will they if they
find out we believe what Charlie Kirk believed?
It's darker out there than we want to think about
or admit. But it's undeniable, and it's time
for us to just not be naive anymore. I think
that's what this week has done to many of us.
It's awakened us. There was a post on X Today.
that spelled out the scenario so well. Kind of
sarcastic, but so true. Here's what it said.
Normal people see a relatively nice guy doing
a simple debate. Not a political speech, not
a rally or a riot. And they see him getting gunned
down in 4K. Then they see a bunch of people,
even their friends, cheer and clap and dance
about it. And they ask why. He was a fascist,
they cry gleefully. The normal person just stares
at the screen. Here's a clean -cut looking guy
in a t -shirt with a microphone who's bleeding
out horrifically. And it reminds them of the
scared young blonde they saw bleeding out on
the train just a few days ago, and a question
forms in their mind. What did he do that made
him a fascist, they ask. Well, he said bad things,
is the response. So are you happy they murdered
him for talking? Of course we are. Collapse their
kid's teacher, their pilot, their doctor. And
the normal person is horrified. Someone they
trust their kids to, their health to, their safety
to, is acting like a foaming, raging lunatic
who wants people dead because they held a different
opinion and talked about it. So here's the thing.
This is why I say we've hit a pivotal moment
in our country. The enemy's cover got blown off
this week. As disgusting as all those TikTok
videos were to watch, his cover is now blown.
He's exposed for all to see. He can't hide. He's
starting to hiss again. And the normal people
of this world have noticed. So the battle's been
engaged. And what should we expect now? Do you
think the enemy is going to back away? It's going
to get harder. It's going to get more difficult.
So that's the diagnosis. Does any of that surprise
you guys based on what you've seen this week?
I hope not. And listen, let me just caveat. Not
everybody is built to dive into all of that stuff
and deal with it. I get it. My wife is one of
them. Tandy's like, you tell me what's going
on. I don't need to see it. You need to know
your own heart, right? And maybe you need to
just guard it from that stuff, but you can't
be naive at the same time. You have to know what's
happening out there. So how do we respond? First
of all, let's make sure we ground our response
in biblical truth. Let me pose a couple questions
to you. Are Christians called to confront evil?
Are we called to do what we can to put a check
on the spread of evil? Do we see biblical characters
stand against evil or do we see them acting passively
in the face of evil? Well, how did Elijah respond
to the wickedness of King Ahab and Jezebel? Did
he stand up? He did. How did Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego respond when they were commanded
by a pagan official to fall down and worship
that golden statue? They said no. How did Daniel
respond when he was told by decree of the king
under threat of death that he was not to pray?
He prayed. How did prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah
and Amos respond when they saw the ruling elite
of Israel and Judah violating the covenant with
Yahweh? They pointed their fingers and they pointed
at the government officials and the kings and
the elite and they said, repent. How did Jesus
respond when Israel had turned the temple courts
into a marketplace? How did he respond when the
religious establishment called him a blasphemer?
When they accused him of breaking the Sabbath?
When they claimed he was driving out demons by
the power of Beelzebub? How did Peter and John
respond when the all -powerful Sanhedrin threatened
them, do not preach in the name of Jesus? They
stood up to it. They said, no more. Can't let
evil take over. Next Sunday we'll be back in
the book of Esther. You talk about the spread
of evil. An edict from the king that says exterminate
the entire Jewish population of the Persian kingdom.
Will she and Mordecai take steps to confront
that evil? Or will they just give up? I hope
the answer to the questions on the screen are
obvious. Because when God's people go passive,
When we start to navel gaze, we start to live
in silos where we just look away from evil as
if I don't notice it, it won't be there. That's
how we open the door to its spread. It's that
kind of weakness that encourages the enemy to
advance. Criminals see that kind of weakness
and they take advantage of it, don't they? We've
seen this. That kind of weakness emboldens progressive
leftists to push their agendas, and they will
push and they will push and they will push until
they get pushed back. True? We've seen that in
the BLM riots, in the COVID lies, in the increase
of unchecked crime in our cities. And I'm going
to say something provocative here. There's another
group out there, and they are probing for weakness
more than anybody else. In my opinion, the biggest
threat the West faces right now, whether you
realize it or not, is the advance of Islamic
supremacy. Don't sleep on this. I know this from
history. I've done too much study of the spread
of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries. From studying
the wickedness of the Quran, the Hadith of Muhammad.
Don't be fooled. Islam is not really a religion.
It's not just a religion. It is a political ideology
that always, always, always insists on domination.
Always. There is no other type of Islam. No matter
what people try to tell you, moderate Islam is
a cover for that. It's always watching for weakness,
looking for ways to infiltrate. And though Islamists
despise the lifestyle of progressive liberals,
they will partner with them as useful idiots
to further their goals. And so we already see
this unholy alliance that's making massive gains
across Europe. It's making massive gains in cities
in our country as well. And if they gain a majority
in any Western nation, freedom ceases. By definition,
freedom goes away. That's how Islam rolls. It's
an ideology from the pit of hell. Don't soften
it. It's an ideology from the pit of hell that
only respects strength and can only be stopped
by taking strong positions and drawing hard boundaries.
Now, before I share some of the thoughts on how
we as believers can go on the offense and take
ground for the kingdom of God, let me start by
sharing with you a few very practical defensive
tips that can help us to combat evil. And here's
the overarching principle. You have to be aware
that evil is out there. It's just basic awareness.
Again, not to live in fear, but to be aware that
evil is out there. Peter has warned us, your
enemy, your adversary prowls around like a roaring
lion. He's seeking to devour, so don't be naive
to it. Again, not to live in fear. God does not
want us to live in paranoia like there's a bad
guy behind every tree, but we should be aware.
Be alert. Be wise. Be discerning. These are biblical
concepts, you guys. Listen again. Be alert, be
wise, be discerning. Biblical concepts. And know
this, evil will use your innocence and your naivete
and your kindness and your empathy to take advantage
of you if you're not careful. So you have to
be cautious. Even when your heart is in the right
place, you have to be cautious now. Know the
days that you live in. So for example, that couple
that opened the door to their own killer. What
red flag should have they... noticed before they
opened that door? Was there another way to help
this guy who turned out to be a monster without
opening that door? Now, I know that there's an
argument to be made from Scripture that opening
that door is worth the risk to help somebody.
I get that. There are always risks to helping
people. But please, I love you too much to not
warn you. This is not an innocent world. These
days are evil. So be aware of it. In fact, Proverbs
22 .3 is fitting for this. It says this, the
prudent sees the evil and hides himself, but
the naive go on and are punished for it. A prudent
person notices evil. They take precautionary
measures. The naive person who lacks wisdom ignores
the obvious signs or just doesn't pay attention.
This is what breaks my heart about that Ukrainian
woman who was killed on the train. I've seen
the video. And there were other seats that she
could have sat in. Did she take note of the people
around her? Because of all the people that I've
seen in the frame of the video, only one of them
looked dangerous. And I'm not talking about the
color of his skin. That's not the issue. I'm
talking about having the sense to notice when
somebody is carrying themselves in a way that
doesn't look right, acting in a way that is suspicious.
So we all have to learn to scan our surroundings,
head on a swivel, as we say, right? And then
trust your instincts. That guy in the train had
all the physical signs of being potentially dangerous,
and yet for some reason, she decided to sit right
in front of him. Last practical tip is this,
and this is for parents out there. Do not allow
your kids to live in the dark online. That's
exactly what this shooter was doing. Moore's
gonna come out, watch. His neighbor described
him as a, quote, a Reddit kid, somebody who immerses
himself in toxic online propaganda. 22 -year
-old kid, seems to have grown up in a decent
home, falls into the world of Antifa. Chatting
in Discord rooms, talking about trans issues
all the time. And the poison of that progressive
ideology overcomes him. Soon he's arguing with
his family over dinner that Charlie Kirk is a
fascist. He's an existential threat to gay people.
And so he goes out and he engraves. Antifa phrases
on his bullet casings. Know what your kids are
doing, parents. I know so many of you have young
kids. You're like, I haven't gotten there yet.
It's coming. Know what they're doing. Know who
they're hanging out with. Check their internet
history. Find out who they're talking to. This
is all part of being wise and discerning and
being on alert in an evil time. Now let's talk
about going on offense and confronting evil.
Do you know that there is a New Testament passage
that tells us how to wage war? It's in 2 Corinthians
10. Here's what it says. For though we walk in
the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the
flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction
of fortresses. We are destroying speculations
and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge
of God, and we are taking every thought captive
to the obedience of Christ. So Christians, we
don't pick up physical weapons to attack the
enemy. It's not our calling. Our weapons are
spiritual in nature, but notice this. They are
powerful. That's Paul's point here. They're powerful.
They're strong enough to take down the enemy's
strongholds. Every lie, every false idea, every
empty philosophy that stands against the knowledge
of God, those things can be brought down through
spiritual weapons, if God wills. It's not because
of us, is it? Because we're not that powerful,
but because of the sovereign power of God working
in us and through the truth of his word. So our
calling is to pick up spiritual weapons and do
what Charlie was doing, engage the battle, employ
the type of reasoned arguments that will lead
our opponents out of their false ideologies,
out of their false worldviews, and toward the
truth. That's our calling, folks. That's how
we wage war. We need to be resolved to stand
firm in the truth, become bolder in our speech,
knowing that God is sovereignly at work. He is
the one empowering it. Remember, they want you
to be afraid and silent. That was part of the
point of the assassination. Hey, Christian, you
should shut up. So we respond by becoming more
vocal. Not by walking away from the debate, but
by taking ground for the kingdom, drawing people
away from the lies. Sometimes the most profound
thing we can do as Christians is to lean into
the debate and say, no more. I draw the line
right here, no more. And we can do that. Listen,
we can say those things in a godly way. Those
things are not mutually exclusive. We can be
resolved and in a godly way say no more, not
with hatred in our hearts, but with a smile on
our face and with true love as our motivation,
with resolve and with confidence, knowing that
we are standing for principles that are best
for both us and for our neighbor because God's
ways are always best. They're best for all of
society, so why would we not stand on them with
confidence? In Romans 12, Paul finishes out this
important chapter, and he gives us four very
important principles that we can apply here.
Let me share them with you. He says, first, our
inclination should always be to strive for peace.
He says, if possible, if possible, so far as
it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
That's number one. Start there. Your inclination
is towards peace. Number two, he says, don't
fall into the trap of returning evil for evil.
He says, never take your own revenge but leave
room for the wrath of God for it is written,
vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.
And friends, this is critical. Okay, we need
to guard our hearts from sin in this area. Because
if you're like me, when you heard the news about
the murder of Irina or the murder of Charlie,
you wanted vengeance. That was probably the first
reaction you had. And then hopefully you said,
nope. But I get it. I felt it deep within my
core. I wanted retribution and I wanted it now.
And that's when we take a deep breath. Because
that's a fleshly response, right? We take a deep
breath. We can't let it overcome us. We think
biblically. We pray our way through it, and we
remind ourselves, no, our weapons are spiritual,
not physical. Just to underscore the difference
here, take a look at this picture. Look at these
contrasting photos. On the left is the destructive
rage of the BLM riots. On the right is the response
of students on Liberty's campus. when they heard
the news of the assassination. Vengeance belongs
to the Lord. Let him do the work. You pray, and
you step into the battle. Amen? Number three,
try to win your opponent through kindness. If
your enemy's hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty,
give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap
burning coals on his head. What did Paul mean
by that last statement? Showing your enemy kindness
is a means of leading them to be ashamed of their
thoughts and ideas and the way they're treating
Christians. If God wills it, to produce repentance
in them, to show them their foolishness. But
you do it with kindness and by serving them.
And then number four, this is sort of the summary.
Do not be overcome by evil, and that's important.
Do not let evil overtake you. Stand firm. but
overcome evil with good. We overcome evil. We
get triumph over evil through these positive
steps that show the character of Christ and his
work. We put it on display for our opponents
to see. In John 15, we saw that the world is
known for its hatred. We're to be known as the
opposite for our love. That's how we win. Now,
what does that look like practically, right?
Because this is great stuff, right? This is great,
giant theological stuff. I already know some
of you guys, because we've been talking in recent
days, and you're like, yeah, but give me the
real stuff. Like, what do I do tomorrow? Okay.
At its foundation, it means, first of all, every
single one of us focusing on the basics of the
Christian life. We commit to stop being lazy,
stop being passive, Stop being apathetic about
the Christian life. And we get into the battle.
Dive into the life of your church. Engage in
deep fellowship with other believers. Commit
to spiritual growth in your life. Serve other
people. Resist selfish living. Worship, study,
pray. Commit to the habit of communion. Make
wise and careful choices in how you spend your
free time. Those are the basics, friends. I mean,
if you wanted something spectacular, I'm just
telling you, if you want to be in the battle,
start there. Start with the basics in your life.
Recognize that you're in the battle. I mean,
are you all standing on the sidelines going,
well, someday God will recruit me and maybe I'll
jump into it? You're in it. You're the target.
You're in the battle. So take this stuff seriously.
Put your hand to the plow. Do the hard work.
Do the necessary things. While other people are
coasting, you swim upstream. And you commit to
it. And then you go to the next level. Become
outspoken about the beauty of the gospel in your
life. Tell people how it's changed you. Show
them what it means to know Christ. Lean into
hard conversations with people. Challenge false
ideas in love. Call sin, sin. Call what is evil,
evil. And at the same time, extend kindness and
grace to those who are seeking the truth. These
are basic principles, guys, but are we putting
them into practice? See your vocation as kingdom
work. When you can, speak up in the workplace.
Put yourself out there. And then speak up in
the public square if you have an opportunity.
We have an evangelism table called Ambassadors
Well. That's at the mall once or twice a week.
And sometimes we have a hard time getting people
to volunteer. Confronting evil means being willing
to put yourself out there to endure the pressure
and the heat that comes with your witness for
Christ. That's the battle. And then I'm going
to cast a giant vision for you. In the ultimate
sense, think long term. You want to be in the
spiritual battle? You want to win victories?
Get married. and have children, and then grandchildren,
and raise them in the fear and the admonition
of the Lord. Put an emphasis on a biblical marriage
that pleases God, that serves as a witness to
the world. Pass down your faith and your values
to future generations. Leave a legacy that other
people want to emulate. This is all part of overcoming
evil. There's spiritual battles that are won
by discipline, faithfulness, and courage. And
what if we had a whole army? of men and women
who did that all at once together, charging the
gates of hell. Speaking of overcoming evil with
good, I'm gonna invite Adam to come to the pulpit
and he's gonna share something about how we here
at Oak Hill are playing our part as a church
right now in the spiritual battle. And I'm super
excited about it. I'm just gonna share with you.
Thank you, Jeff. And church family, I pray you're
encouraged as hard as it is to be reminded about
the problem of evil. It's important that we don't
turn our eyes away. We need to see what evil
is. And I've often said, many of you have heard
me say it from here, from the pulpit, in small
groups, in personal discipleship, that we are
a soft people. A soft people. We don't see the
hardship. And that's not an accusation. It's
not any meanness that I say that. But we don't
see the suffering and the evil regularly. We
live a soft life and we're often guarded from
the hardships and realities. So it is, as hard
as it is, it is actually a grace to see the world
for what it is. To see the reality of the spiritual
realm and then, then to respond faithfully and
to see that God is still at work. amidst all
the evil. Evil has a day, but it does not have
eternity. Amen? Here's some of the good. We focused
on raising $9 ,000 for a church in Madagascar.
That was our goal. And we were several thousand
under that goal until last Sunday. And providentially,
Jeff Steele, Remington, who's recovering from
knee surgery today, gave a sermon that involved
giving. Now, I can tell you that was not planned.
He said it, but I'm telling you from the elder
team, it was not planned. That was not our emphasis.
We were not trying to guilt anyone. We were not
trying to push you to give out of any compulsion
other than Christ. And yet God superintended
and organized that. He was supposed to deliver
that sermon several weeks earlier, in fact. But
in God's kindness and in the faithfulness of
this church body, we raised more than $9 ,000.
We raised 13 ,500. Yes, you can clap. You can
be excited about that. Think about this. This
other church on the other side of the world,
they're overjoyed. Overjoyed because what they
asked for was for a roof for their church, rooms
for the kids so that, as Jeff just encouraged,
that the next generation can be raised up in
the fear and the admonition. of the Lord. That
is a good thing. But what is one of the only
things better than blessing one church body around
the globe? Blessing two. Blessing two church
bodies. We raised more than we needed for that
church. And so in talking with Pastor Folley,
he said, there's another church. There's another
church who has a great need that we could bless.
I gave the transliteration because you can't
pronounce it without that. At least I couldn't.
But mango rivotra. You can try to say it. Mango
rivotra. You're not trying very hard. Say it
with me. Mango rivotra. Yeah, you'll never remember
that. Maybe. We'll see. We'll leave it up there
for you. This church body is like six and a half
hours as the crow flies away from Ampanube. And
they also, as you can see, don't have a roof.
They don't have doors and windows. They have
a partial steel structure on part of their building.
But since we raised more, Folly said, would we
be willing to allow that excess of funding to
go towards this church that is a church plant,
has been for many years with a guy named Pastor
Allen, and has about 50 to 60 children and adults
that gather in it every single week to hear the
gospel. And of course, what did the elders say
to that? There was no hesitation. Before I finished
sharing what the goal was, there were thumbs
up all around. You know, Matthew 16, 18 tells
us that Jesus is going to build his church upon
this earth. And I take that to mean as both this
earth and the confession that Jesus Christ is
the son of the living God and that the gates
of Hades will not overpower it. As you look at
this church body halfway around the globe, think
of God's goodness building his church and the
gates of Hades will not overpower. So friends,
amidst the evil of our day, remember that God
is good. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the
life. The spirit is transforming hearts and the
church grows most through persecution and hardship.
And though some days may look bleak, our Lord,
our God, he is not surprised by the trials and
tribulations we face and he uses them for his
glory as we sang earlier and our good. So our
prayer is that we continue to run the race that's
set before us, that we look to Christ and that
we're faithful no matter what comes our way.
He is worthy of our obedience. He is worthy of
our worship and he is worthy. of our love. So
I want to say to this church body, as much as
I say, hey, we're a soft people, I include myself
in that, but well done church. Well done church
on raising these funds for those who sacrificed,
those who gave willingly, and those who prayed.
Even if you weren't able to give, but you prayed.
Keep praying for these churches. Pray that they
will be faithful like we're trying to be faithful
to stand against the gates of Hades. We're going
to keep you posted as we hear from these church
bodies about how these funds will be utilized
to help build those structures for the church.
But at the end of the day, it's not the building.
You know that as we sit here in this sanctuary
that we've made that is from a school. It's not
the building. Look around. It's the people. The
church is a people bought by Christ for his own
possession. A people who were once lost. Helplessly
lost. A people who hated him. at one point, and
yet were redeemed, were washed, renewed, and
saved, and sanctified, and made holy and lovers
of God, from haters of God to lovers of God.
That's what we want our testimony to be. That's
what we want to be to a watching world, and that's
what we want to pray for these churches as well.
We have a special video of gratitude. from Pastor
Folly, who is coordinating the efforts for these
churches, and then Jeff will come up to close
our time. Dear friends at Oak Hill, I just wanted
to take this time to express my gratitude, though
words fail me, for the very generous donation
that you did towards the school project in Ampanube.
It could be that because of your generosity,
we could also maybe help another church as well
because of that. And so really, I don't know
what the right words are, but just wanted to
say that may the Lord reward you richly for your
generosity. Thank you to all of you who made
the effort to do this fundraising. Thank you
for all of you who believed in this project and
really contributed. And thank you to those of
you as well who are contributing. through your
prayers, not just only through this financial
donation. Again, to all of you at Oak Hill, thank
you so much. Amen, right? All right, here's how
I want to close out our time today. You might
have noticed on the first screen, I put up the
word theodicy, and you might think, what is theodicy?
Theodicy is a word that refers to how we explain
how God can be both Good and sovereign while
at the same time allowing evil to exist in his
creation. And it's a challenging question. It's
something that may have been on your mind this
week. Where was God? Did anybody ask the question?
Where was God? Is it possible that God's goodness
and power are compatible with the reality of
human suffering and evil? The answer is yes.
And the Bible tells us it is. And the Bible gives
us three ways. that that is true. And I think
it's important to understand this so that you
don't walk out of here thinking, I'm confused
about why God would allow for this. So let's
look at this. First of all, you have to know
that suffering and evil are traced back to the
original source. Not to the creator who made
all things perfect, but to the fall of man and
woman in the garden. Adam and Eve, created by
God in a state of positive holiness, chosen their
freedom to disobey God's law and they started
a ball rolling, guys, that is still rolling today
and it's accelerating. Bringing hardship, bringing
suffering, bringing death into the created order,
injecting corruption and guilt into the DNA of
every single human being. But the truth is the
genuine freedom and privilege that they had to
know God and to walk with God in the garden,
necessarily included the power of contrary choice,
to disobey. And man bears the responsibility
for that just as we bear the responsibility for
our sin today. We don't blame God for that. We
blame man and woman. Second thing, the Bible
casts evil as suffering. There it is. The value
of evil and suffering as principles that are
necessary to produce in us the most valuable
things in life. And I want you to think about
the contrast to that. Hardship, suffering, difficulty
is given to us to produce the most valuable things
we can discover in this earthly life, namely
salvation, being saved from the wrath that we
deserve, and then, once we're saved, spiritual
maturity that conforms us to the image of our
Savior. The truth is, God uses the wickedness
of this world as a contrast to His goodness.
to open up our eyes to what the remedy for our
sin is and to bring us, to draw us into salvation.
And then once we're saved, he will bring hardship
and suffering into our lives as a means of shaping
our character. Adam quoted from James and Peter.
It's true. He shapes our character through suffering.
He causes us to have to trust him more. He causes
us to produce godly endurance. None of those
things would happen if life was easy. Amen? And
then third, the evil in this world is a constant
reminder of the fact that we are aliens and strangers
down here, that our truest home is in the heavenly
realms, and we look forward to that, do we not?
And the suffering and the tears and the heaviness
of heart that we experience down here reminds
us of our true home. And so even in the midst
of the type of evil we've seen this week, We
remember why these things happen, what God's
purposes are. We see the principle of Romans
8, 28 at work, that God causes all things, even
difficult things, even tragedies, to work together
for good to those who love him, to those he has
called according to his purpose. And then we
also look down the road and we say, God's sovereignty
and his justice will prevail. Proverbs 16, 4
says, that the Lord has made everything for its
own purpose, even the wicked, for the day of
evil. He's sovereign over all of it. And justice
is coming, Proverbs 24. For there will be no
future for the evil man. The lamp of the wicked
will be put out. Vengeance belongs to him. He
will make all things right. And we step into
the battle knowing that those things are true.
Praise God this morning that this past Wednesday
was not the end of life for Charlie Kirk. In
fact, it was just the beginning of his living.
Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, wicked world,
what power do you really have over us? It's true,
for a little while longer, evil has its moments,
as it did this week, but its time is running
out. And so we don't have to live in fear. Psalm
23 tells us, right, that we walk through the
valley of the shadow of death. We will fear no
evil for God is with us. Our days are in his
hands, right? For the battle belongs to the Lord.
So let's engage in it. And let's pray that God
would raise up another 10 ,000 Charlie Kirks
in this country. An entire generation of young
men and women who will stand boldly for truth
and confront the evil that wants to overcome
us. And let us continue to trust that God's goodness
and sovereignty will reign no matter how or where
the enemy strikes at us. Do you feel the world
is broken? Do you feel the shadows deepen? But
do you know that all the dark won't stop the
light from getting through? That's the truth.
Let's pray together. Lord, you are a good God
who brings us comfort and brings us peace. In
our time of need, Lord, you are there for us.
All we have to do is ask, and you come to our
aid. And you are a God who, in these moments,
shows us truth. You remind us, go back to the
word. I know the feelings are strong. I know
the emotions are heavy. Go back to my word. Look
at it, believe it, trust it. For I will never
leave you nor forsake you. These are precious
truths, Lord. These are precious truths that
we need to keep preaching to our own hearts and
then preaching to each other in your body so
that we might be encouraged to keep fighting,
to keep in the battle and to trust that you will
give us the victory. Even now, Lord, as our hearts
are heavy, Lift them, Lord, and help us to worship
and sing well. For your glory, we pray. Amen.