The Charlie Kirk Show - 'Don't Be Surprised If They Hate You' —Skillet's John Cooper LIVE from Freedom Night in America

00:00:00.000 Hey everybody, today the Charlie Kirk Show.

00:00:01.000 I open up Freedom Night in America to talk about our big news of welcoming a daughter into this world.

00:00:05.000 And then Drew Hernandez carries the program to interview a very special person.

00:00:11.000 No advertisers on this episode.

00:00:12.000 If you want to support Turning Point USA, you guys can get my book for $15, quite a steal of a deal at tpusa.com/slash book.

00:00:19.000 Proceeds go to turning pointusa.

00:00:20.000 That is tpusa.com/slash book.

00:00:24.000 You guys can email me your thoughts as alwaysfreedom at charliekirk.com and support the Charlie Kirk Show at charliekirk.com/slash support.

00:00:31.000 I want to thank some of you that support the Charlie Kirk Show.

00:00:33.000 We are enthusiastically thankful for you.

00:00:35.000 Andrew from South Dakota, thank you.

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00:00:50.000 And Patty from Colorado.

00:00:51.000 Thank you for supporting us at charliekirk.com/slash support.

00:00:55.000 It gives us the ability to keep on posting episodes and getting the message out.

00:00:59.000 Buckle up, everybody.

00:01:00.000 Here we go.

00:01:01.000 Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.

00:01:03.000 Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.

00:01:05.000 I want you to know we are lucky to have Charlie Kirk.

00:01:09.000 Charlie Kirk's running the White House, folks.

00:01:12.000 I want to thank Charlie.

00:01:13.000 He's an incredible guy.

00:01:14.000 His spirit, his love of this country, he's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point USA.

00:01:22.000 We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives, and we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country.

00:01:31.000 That's why we are here.

00:01:34.000 Brought to you by the Loan Experts I Trust, Andrew and Todd at Sierra Pacific Mortgage at andrewandTodd.com.

00:01:43.000 Hey, everybody, please take a seat.

00:01:44.000 Thank you guys.

00:01:45.000 Thank you.

00:01:46.000 It has been a very eventful couple of weeks for us.

00:01:51.000 I'll tell you all about it.

00:01:54.000 First, I just want to reiterate how awesome Dream City is and Choices is.

00:01:59.000 Choices is doing such important work.

00:02:02.000 It really is.

00:02:03.000 And we just had a really nice event just in the other room here.

00:02:07.000 And I'm going to kind of touch on some of the same points I said there, but kind of in a post-Row America, it is on us as Christians and believers to make sure that every single woman who is pregnant in Arizona knows that there are options available that is not Planned Parenthood, that are not these abortion clinics.

00:02:26.000 And Choices are doing such a wonderful job.

00:02:28.000 And so we're going to support them any way we possibly can.

00:02:31.000 And just so honored to be partnered with you guys.

00:02:33.000 You're doing such amazing work.

00:02:34.000 So, kind of on that theme, so, you know, in the world that we live in, almost everything is broadcasted and posted on social media.

00:02:47.000 And, you know, about nine months ago, for those of you that are math majors out there, my wife and I decided to say, hey, what if we didn't tell the world about every intimate detail that otherwise people, you know, put on social media all the time?

00:03:03.000 And again, this is not to, you know, accuse or judge people of, you know, people that do that.

00:03:07.000 It's just, what if you decide to keep one thing private and one thing sacred while you still can?

00:03:14.000 And so you might have noticed over the last four or five months, Erica wasn't at any Freedom Night in Americas here.

00:03:22.000 And, you know, we didn't for a reason.

00:03:24.000 And obviously that reason is two weeks ago, yesterday, we welcomed a daughter into the world.

00:03:34.000 Thank you.

00:03:35.000 And for all the journalists out there that hate us, that's right, there's more Kirks coming your way. 0.89

00:03:41.000 You better believe it.

00:03:44.000 We are multiplying.

00:03:47.000 And obviously, Erica did so amazing throughout the entire pregnancy, but it was so special to just keep it private and to keep it quiet for so many different reasons.

00:03:59.000 And the one that was the big takeaway is that we knew that it was something that it wasn't for trying to get other people's attention, wasn't for trying to make it into some big social media thing.

00:04:14.000 And obviously, it was Erica's decision to do it.

00:04:16.000 It was not easy, though.

00:04:18.000 Matt, who helps run Turning Point Faith for Us, does an amazing job, Matt Hay, he kind of came to me.

00:04:23.000 He's like, how did you keep that secret for nine months?

00:04:26.000 And it took effort, honestly.

00:04:29.000 It really did.

00:04:30.000 But it's just a good takeaway that if you have something special and something private, I missed the days before social media.

00:04:37.000 You know, honestly, it could actually kind of refreshing and awesome.

00:04:40.000 And boy, I'll tell you, everyone tries to tell you in advance, it's going to change your life.

00:04:45.000 It's going to change your life.

00:04:47.000 It's going to change your life.

00:04:48.000 It's one thing to hear that.

00:04:49.000 And then when your life actually gets changed, whoa.

00:04:53.000 Okay.

00:04:55.000 Wow.

00:05:00.000 And it really does.

00:05:02.000 And as for someone who's kind of been in this fight now for 10 years and all the things we're trying to do to save Western civilization, to try to restore the Constitution, all of a sudden, there's a why.

00:05:16.000 Like, oh, okay, now I get it.

00:05:19.000 And, you know, at all these events, you would hear for years people say, we're doing it for our kids and grandkids.

00:05:25.000 And it becomes very real very quickly.

00:05:29.000 And, you know, someone asked me a question the other day on a podcast or something where they said, you know, what are you most excited about?

00:05:36.000 And, you know, I gave some cliche answer.

00:05:38.000 You know, I'm excited for all the firsts and the memories and something.

00:05:41.000 And then they said, Charlie, what are you most worried about?

00:05:45.000 And my answer, I think all of you share, is, I'm really worried about the world that I'm raising a daughter in right now.

00:05:53.000 I'm worried about the country that she has to grow up in.

00:05:57.000 I'm worried about the public schools.

00:05:58.000 I'm worried about the decaying kind of lack of morality in our country.

00:06:03.000 I'm worried about this kind of inverse totalitarianism that we're seeing from our government.

00:06:09.000 And that worry, and I know all of you share this belief, is only going to motivate me more to fight harder and to do more and to win.

00:06:21.000 And, you know, for all of our wonderful fans out there that, you know, send us all of our death threats and stuff, if you think we fought hard before, it's going to be 2.0.

00:06:32.000 Just wait till you see it.

00:06:32.000 A whole new gear is now going to, because the why has totally changed.

00:06:39.000 And so a couple things I just want to kind of keep on hitting with you here tonight.

00:06:43.000 And I'm not going to be doing the interview tonight.

00:06:45.000 First time I'm going back for newborn duty.

00:06:47.000 And I'm not going to apologize for that, by the way.

00:06:50.000 So you're going to have a wonderful host here tonight and phenomenal guests.

00:06:53.000 But just a couple things I want to kind of leave you all with, because we haven't really had a chance to talk.

00:06:59.000 I think it's been five weeks since the last one, if I'm not mistaken, is that one of the defining characteristics of the American system of government, of a free society, is this idea of bottom-up, not top-down.

00:07:13.000 And I truly believe that the elites, the people that are running kind of the worst aspects of the American culture and the American government right now are increasingly worried that there is a reclamation of citizens starting to reclaim power, that there's something that is happening at great momentum.

00:07:28.000 And you see this with the kind of unfounded terminology and accusations of calling half the country fascists and throwing around this term just so kind of loosely.

00:07:39.000 And I just want to encourage all of you, because I know a lot of you are looking for hope, is that there's something very special happening in the country right now.

00:07:48.000 And we are seeing it, forget politics.

00:07:50.000 I'm talking about people that are rising up in record numbers to care about things that otherwise they would not be caring about, whether it be city councils, whether it be school boards, whether it be caring about citizenship.

00:08:02.000 It's a very special thing.

00:08:04.000 And the people in charge, they don't like that.

00:08:09.000 They don't want all of a sudden questions to be asked of them.

00:08:12.000 They don't, I mean, we have an almost packed auditorium here tonight.

00:08:15.000 It's an amazing thing.

00:08:16.000 They don't like that.

00:08:17.000 They don't like the fact that the idea of a citizen is being reborn right now in America.

00:08:24.000 And what makes citizenship different is in America, the idea of a citizen literally means that we are co-ruler of our nation.

00:08:34.000 And the more active the citizen, the harder it is for a tyrant to be able to get away with their deceit, with their theft, with their lying and their stealing and their cheating.

00:08:46.000 Now, most of civilization, human beings, were not citizens.

00:08:51.000 They were subjects or they were serfs or they were slaves.

00:08:54.000 This idea of a citizen is totally unique, but it takes exactly what you being here tonight.

00:09:00.000 It takes you being here tonight, kind of plays into this idea of what a citizen is, which is it takes the consumption of information.

00:09:07.000 You have to always be alert and aware of all the different ways they're trying to rob your freedoms and liberties.

00:09:12.000 Obviously, it takes voting, but that's like the least of it, by the way.

00:09:16.000 That's just the beginner step.

00:09:17.000 It takes praying and fasting for your nation, which we, by the way, going into this election, regardless your political beliefs, guys, you know, tonight is not about politics.

00:09:27.000 It's not.

00:09:27.000 I want to encourage everyone at least once a week, maybe once a month, we got to pray and fast for our nation.

00:09:33.000 We got to pray and fast that righteous decisions are made coming into November.

00:09:39.000 But you can see it in the behavior.

00:09:41.000 You can see it in the language that the unelected, as we call it, the fourth branch of government, the administrative state, they're increasingly nervous and acting out with desperate type last-ditch efforts because there is a mass, I believe, once in a century realignment happening.

00:09:59.000 There's a great book called The Fourth Turning that talks about how generations kind of operate in 20 to 30 year cycles.

00:10:06.000 And I believe we're in the middle of a cycle right now where all of a sudden we could go one of two ways.

00:10:10.000 But every single leading indicator is showing us that it's actually, it's going away that the Davos crowd and the World Economic Forum crowd never would have possibly imagined, which is it very easily could have gone towards the direction of apathy and cynicism.

00:10:28.000 That is so tempting, isn't it?

00:10:30.000 It is so tempting to be apathetic and cynical.

00:10:33.000 I mean, when you watch the nightly news, you say, oh, they're just doing it to get rich and to kind of, you know, serve their own interests.

00:10:40.000 And what good is it?

00:10:42.000 But instead, we're defying the odds with what you're doing tonight, with the organizing, with those of you running for office, with those of you that are leaning in and homeschooling your kids, those of you that are supporting the wonderful Dream City Christian Turning Point Academy, which is just getting started, by the way.

00:10:59.000 All these amazing new projects that are rising up are, dare I say, kind of like a glitch in the matrix.

00:11:05.000 It's an unexpected development where they were counting on you just to stay at home, stop watching the news, stop caring, stop showing up to events like this, and just kind of watch Netflix and Hulu and just say, whatever, what difference does it make?

00:11:20.000 More evil has been done over the last 100 years based on the phrase, what difference does it make?

00:11:29.000 More evil.

00:11:30.000 Apathy of allowing bad people to do what they want to do while good people sit idly by.

00:11:35.000 And the moment that we are in, it transcends politics.

00:11:38.000 You know why I say it transcends politics?

00:11:40.000 Not just because it's true, because after the election, are you just going to stop showing up?

00:11:43.000 And no, of course not.

00:11:44.000 And that's the part, that's the thing, is that it's a long-term fight.

00:11:48.000 It's a long-term cultural, educational, spiritual, religious fight where I think all of us are buying and say, okay, we understand the stakes that are in front of us, that we believe in separation of powers and we believe in consent to the governed and we believe in all these different things and we're willing to do something about it.

00:12:04.000 And so the moment that we're in right now, I believe, is the last gasps of a dying regime, of a regime that is not political.

00:12:15.000 It's something that is much deeper than that.

00:12:17.000 It's people that are in these unelected federal government bureaucracies.

00:12:21.000 It's people that believe that they can steal your earnings and your wages without your consent.

00:12:27.000 And so this realignment is something that people do not get to see very often.

00:12:32.000 In fact, I don't believe this has happened in our country in a very, very long period of time.

00:12:37.000 And we're seeing it in public opinion polls.

00:12:39.000 We're seeing it in so many different ways.

00:12:41.000 And the mass media would like to have you believe to be cynical and to be apathetic and say, what difference does it make?

00:12:48.000 You know who says it over and over again?

00:12:49.000 What difference does it make?

00:12:50.000 That is the poem of Satan.

00:12:52.000 He would love nothing more than to have you say, my action, my behavior, my language means absolutely nothing.

00:13:00.000 And now, as a father, I can say it actually makes a very big difference, actually, because there's a whole different generation that we're fighting for, that we're contesting for.

00:13:09.000 One quick announcement, then I'll close and I'll bring up our wonderful Drew Hernandez, who will lead us through the evening here.

00:13:15.000 We have an event coming up all about the Great Reset.

00:13:17.000 It's a mini-event coming up.

00:13:19.000 It's called How to Defeat the Great Reset or Defeating the Great Reset.

00:13:23.000 It's at the Arizona Grand Hotel on September 16th and 17th.

00:13:27.000 I think I got that right.

00:13:29.000 We have Steve Bannon speaking.

00:13:31.000 We have Michael O'Fallon, James Lindsay.

00:13:33.000 If you don't like to learn, don't come.

00:13:36.000 Okay?

00:13:36.000 This is not going to be a rally.

00:13:39.000 This is going to be educational and very, very information deep.

00:13:43.000 What is the Great Reset?

00:13:45.000 What is the World Economic Forum?

00:13:47.000 What are the 10 kind of tasks of the Great Reset?

00:13:50.000 Lots of notes.

00:13:51.000 Those of you that are lifelong learners, you guys can attend.

00:13:54.000 We have a discount code for all Freedom Square attendees.

00:13:57.000 So if you guys follow that QR code, you guys can scan to register.

00:14:01.000 I think it's discount code Freedom Night.

00:14:04.000 I could be wrong with that.

00:14:05.000 So if you have any problems with that, just email our team directly and Will can help you through that.

00:14:10.000 It's a two-day event.

00:14:11.000 It's literally 24 hours.

00:14:13.000 We put this together in almost no time.

00:14:15.000 The reason being is I believe every Christian and every American out there needs to know about the World Economic Forum and needs to know about Davos and what's happening with these kind of global implications.

00:14:28.000 So we've assembled a team of experts to help you through that, the 16th and the 17th.

00:14:32.000 And you might say, Charlie, why'd you pick that weekend?

00:14:35.000 It's Constitution Day weekend.

00:14:36.000 What a great counter to say we're going to reset the Constitution, not reset the World Economic Forum.

00:14:42.000 So if you guys are interested, we'll help get you guys there.

00:14:45.000 I'll say this in closing before I go back to newborn duty.

00:14:49.000 And thank you to Erica for allowing me to be here.

00:14:52.000 So sweet.

00:14:53.000 And yes, to answer all your questions, not sleeping very much, but it's awesome.

00:14:56.000 And still doing three hours of radio day and all that good stuff.

00:14:59.000 So I'll close on this, which is as we continue this amazing program here at Freedom Night in America, we have to remember and recognize that we as Christians have to be held to a higher standard when it comes to all of these different issues.

00:15:16.000 I said this with the kind of the Roe issue, that in a post-Roe America, I believe that it's incredible. 0.96

00:15:22.000 It's amazing what the Supreme Court did.

00:15:25.000 But we also must recognize and understand that not every Christian, not every conservative is as pro-life as we would like them to be.

00:15:32.000 That we have a lot of work to do.

00:15:34.000 We have a lot of education work.

00:15:35.000 We have a lot of things to focus on.

00:15:37.000 But we have momentum and the people are our greatest hope.

00:15:40.000 But honestly, it's not our greatest hope.

00:15:41.000 Our greatest hope is in Jesus.

00:15:43.000 And our greatest hope is in the eternal.

00:15:47.000 The greatest hope we have right now in organizing is in all of you continuing the energy, the enthusiasm, with motivation.

00:15:54.000 And so, we have another amazing guest coming up next month that will be all about the Roe issue.

00:15:59.000 If you have any questions about abortion, next month, is it what's the date, Will?

00:16:03.000 October.

00:16:04.000 Can you double-check really quick?

00:16:06.000 Next month, we have Seth Gruber.

00:16:08.000 If you have, that's what I thought.

00:16:09.000 October 5th, he is, in my opinion, one of the top five experts when it comes to the abortion topic in the country.

00:16:17.000 Bring a pro-abortion friend next month.

00:16:20.000 That's your call to action.

00:16:22.000 Bring someone.

00:16:22.000 I know you're saying, oh, come on, Charlie.

00:16:24.000 No, no.

00:16:25.000 And have them come up to the microphone and they will be allowed to ask any question they want.

00:16:29.000 He is so skilled, so graceful, so compassionate on this issue of abortion.

00:16:35.000 Maybe you have questions.

00:16:36.000 That will be all about next month.

00:16:37.000 And we're also going to be honoring Choices Pregnancy Center through that as we do that.

00:16:42.000 So, in closing, here, everybody, we're at an amazing moment in time.

00:16:46.000 The stakes have never been higher.

00:16:48.000 And Arizona is really where this is all unfolding in more ways than one.

00:16:52.000 I'm so honored.

00:16:54.000 I'm so honored to fight alongside all of you.

00:16:57.000 And the notes and the messages that Eric and I have received over the last couple weeks, it's really touching to know how many people are praying for us, how many people are supporting us.

00:17:08.000 It really has been an amazing moment in that regard.

00:17:11.000 Just it's truly, it's truly awesome.

00:17:14.000 And we're going to win, and the bad guys are going to lose.

00:17:16.000 Join me in welcoming Drew Hernandez as he comes up and continues the program here tonight.

00:17:21.000 God bless you guys.

00:17:22.000 I'll see you next month.

00:17:25.000 How's it going, Dream City?

00:17:26.000 How are you guys doing tonight?

00:17:30.000 Well, my name is Drew Hernandez.

00:17:31.000 I'm the host of Frontlines, powered by Turning Point USA.

00:17:35.000 You guys can watch it on Real America's Voice nightly at 7 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 7:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 10:30 p.m. Eastern.

00:17:44.000 It's an awesome time to get together and just push back on the evil in our culture, in our world.

00:17:50.000 I'm going to tell you, man, the worst thing that could have happened to the evil in this world is Charlie Kirk not only having a baby, but a baby girl.

00:17:57.000 You know, like this guy, this guy's going to be a force to be reckoned with.

00:18:02.000 Well, let's get this night started.

00:18:04.000 I wanted to introduce our guest for the tonight, a man of God, a musician, a man on a mission and pursuit for truth, pushing straight through all the lies, the great John Cooper.

00:18:21.000 What's up?

00:18:22.000 Here's the thing.

00:18:23.000 See, I was hoping Charlie was going to be here for a second because I prayed about this.

00:18:27.000 I got something for him.

00:18:32.000 Hey, I could give it to him.

00:18:34.000 I could give it to him.

00:18:35.000 I'll give it to the team.

00:18:37.000 I have one too.

00:18:38.000 It's awesome.

00:18:39.000 John, let's just get straight into this.

00:18:41.000 I don't want to waste any time tonight.

00:18:43.000 Let's let the people hear a little bit of your story, your path, how you got on this path, kind of where you are now and where you're going.

00:18:52.000 Sure.

00:18:52.000 Okay, great.

00:18:53.000 Well, it's really cool to be here.

00:18:54.000 Thanks so much.

00:18:55.000 My name is John.

00:18:56.000 I played a band called Skillet.

00:18:57.000 That's what this ones is.

00:18:58.000 That's my band.

00:19:00.000 Oh, some people.

00:19:01.000 So we have some people with good music tastes here.

00:19:03.000 I didn't know, but now I better not be listening to Toby Mac or something.

00:19:09.000 Anyway, JK, JK.

00:19:12.000 Shots fired.

00:19:13.000 Yeah.

00:19:14.000 He's not here, isn't he?

00:19:15.000 Anyway, but I played a band called Skillet.

00:19:18.000 We've been, this is our 26th year as a rock band.

00:19:22.000 We're a Christian rock band, but we do about 70% of our business in the mainstream rock world.

00:19:28.000 So these days we're probably known more as a rock act, even though people know that we are Christians.

00:19:34.000 And I'm married.

00:19:35.000 My wife, Corey, is of 25 years, is also in the band.

00:19:39.000 Some people know that, some people might not.

00:19:41.000 So if people clapping have probably seen us live because she's amazing.

00:19:47.000 She's awesome.

00:19:48.000 That guy right there with the big beard was like, yeah, I've seen it.

00:19:51.000 Exactly.

00:19:52.000 Exactly.

00:19:53.000 I can see that thing from here, man.

00:19:55.000 Yeah, that's space.

00:19:56.000 It's a pretty intimidating beard he's got going on.

00:19:59.000 Anyway, I have two kids.

00:20:02.000 My daughter is almost 20.

00:20:04.000 My son is 17.

00:20:06.000 And I became a follower of Jesus as a kid.

00:20:08.000 My mom was a Jesus fanatic and taught me about the Bible.

00:20:12.000 And I've just had the privilege of knowing Christ since I was a kid.

00:20:16.000 Wanted to play music to share this amazing hope I have in Jesus Christ.

00:20:21.000 My mom passed away when I was 15.

00:20:24.000 And my relationship with Jesus is what brought me through that.

00:20:28.000 And so I thought music was a great way to do that.

00:20:30.000 And then a few years ago, probably about eight years ago, I got quite deadly serious about the Bible.

00:20:40.000 I was already a Christian.

00:20:41.000 I loved God.

00:20:42.000 I think I liked the Bible and stuff.

00:20:44.000 Eight years ago, I got deadly serious about the Bible because I was like, I don't understand what's happening in the world.

00:20:50.000 I'm confused.

00:20:51.000 People are saying the weirdest stuff I've never heard before in the church.

00:20:55.000 I don't think that's exactly right.

00:20:57.000 And so I came out very, very hard against what we would call the deconstruction movement, the Christian apostasy movement, progressive Christianity, false Christianity that is selling a false lie of secular social justice to the church that's replacing the one and true salvation through Jesus Christ.

00:21:17.000 So I came out really hard about those things.

00:21:20.000 And that's why we're here now.

00:21:21.000 I have a podcast called Cooper Stuff.

00:21:24.000 And I wrote a book that I have here today called Awaken Alive to Truth, which was basically the intent of that was basically to write a book to where teenagers and college students could hear just Bible theology 101 in a way they can understand it.

00:21:40.000 And that's my truest passion, teaching Bible truth, cultural apologetics to people who might not want to sit through a thousand page John Calvin book.

00:21:51.000 Yeah, amen.

00:21:51.000 So let's let's talk about that, right?

00:21:53.000 Because I think that's definitely the elephant in the room, right?

00:21:56.000 All of us are seeing on social media.

00:21:58.000 We're seeing in the mainstream news.

00:22:00.000 I don't even know if we can call it this, but it's woke Christianity.

00:22:04.000 And you see all this SGA.

00:22:05.000 We can definitely call it that.

00:22:06.000 Right.

00:22:07.000 But I mean, it's almost blasphemous to even call it that, right?

00:22:10.000 It's just Christianity, right? 0.98

00:22:13.000 So what has your experience been going head to head inside of the music industry?

00:22:18.000 Because obviously the Christian music industry at some point will clash with the secular world, right? 0.83

00:22:24.000 So how has your experience been kind of combating these things with the truth, engaging it head on?

00:22:31.000 Because I think when people think about it or they watch it from afar, it's like, that's awesome.

00:22:35.000 But behind the scenes, how has it really been just kind of engaging that stuff?

00:22:38.000 Have people tried to cancel you, silence you, slander you?

00:22:43.000 How's your experience been?

00:22:45.000 Yeah.

00:22:46.000 They've definitely tried to cancel me, but they can't.

00:22:50.000 You know what I'm saying?

00:22:52.000 I don't know.

00:22:54.000 It's kind of weird.

00:22:55.000 It's been a weird time, though.

00:22:56.000 Let me ask you this because I'm guessing a lot of people will know what I mean.

00:22:59.000 How many people remember like the time?

00:23:02.000 Maybe this is three years ago.

00:23:04.000 It might be five years ago.

00:23:05.000 It might be eight years ago.

00:23:06.000 I don't know what 2012, 13.

00:23:08.000 I don't know.

00:23:09.000 How many people remember the time when you started hearing your Christian friends saying things about the Bible that you did not understand?

00:23:19.000 Like, does anybody know what I mean when I say that we see some hands?

00:23:23.000 This started happening for me.

00:23:24.000 And I started going, wait a minute, you're saying you're pro-life and you think the best way to be pro-life is to be pro-choice?

00:23:32.000 It was like these kind of arguments, right?

00:23:34.000 It was this, no, no, no, no.

00:23:36.000 Jesus died on the cross, but it wasn't a literal death.

00:23:40.000 Like, I was hearing these kinds of things, and I'm like, I don't know what you're talking about.

00:23:46.000 And so, I think what I started recognizing was this: this is what I believe anyway.

00:23:50.000 In the Christian music world, I think is not that much different.

00:23:53.000 You guys know that Jesus said, Hey, don't be surprised if the world hates you, they hated me first, right?

00:24:02.000 That's what the Bible says.

00:24:04.000 Well, guess what?

00:24:04.000 There is a workaround to that, sort of.

00:24:07.000 The workaround to that is just to find out what the culture does not like about Christianity and then shave those parts off, shave them off, and trim it down and trim it down, and then present a Christianity to the world that the world is like, Oh, you're one of the good Christians.

00:24:29.000 Now, this doesn't work, but people think it works.

00:24:32.000 So, they shaved off all the things that the Bible says that might be inconvenient to us, like Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, the life, right?

00:24:42.000 He's not a way, he's the truth.

00:24:45.000 No one comes to heaven except through the Father.

00:24:48.000 That's what our Lord said.

00:24:49.000 That's just the truth of it.

00:24:51.000 Well, maybe we could shave that off a little bit.

00:24:54.000 We all know people that would say, I can like the Bible a little bit better if there wasn't all these impositions on my sexual life, on the things I think, on the things I watch, on the people that I love, on the people that I want to have sex with. 0.91

00:25:09.000 It'd be a lot easier if we shave all of that. 0.83

00:25:12.000 In the Christian music world, it's just like the Christian church world.

00:25:15.000 People started saying, Okay, then just shave it off.

00:25:19.000 We still have Jesus, but that's obviously a lie. 0.88

00:25:22.000 You cannot separate the word of God, the written word of God, from Jesus, the word become flesh.

00:25:29.000 You can't separate these things, right?

00:25:32.000 So, in the Christian music world, there is a unfortunately, let me say this: there's a lot of Jesus freaks in the Christian music world. 0.96

00:25:42.000 I do want, you know, there are some people that love God, but there are a lot of forces now, especially in the higher ups, because they, a lot of the Christian labels are not owned by mainstream secular labels, just like Christian book books.

00:25:56.000 You know, the Christian publishing agencies now are owned by people who do not love God. 0.57

00:26:00.000 In fact, lots of them hate God, right?

00:26:04.000 So, that is happening, and there is a little bit of a price to pay.

00:26:08.000 But I have seen something happen in some young musicians when I meet them, Christian musicians, who said, Dude, you're like bombastic for Jesus.

00:26:17.000 Maybe I could be like that.

00:26:18.000 I'm like, Yes, you can be like that. 0.99

00:26:20.000 The devil is a liar, and he is trying to tamper you down so he can make you ineffective for the gospel.

00:26:28.000 But that's but if you preach the word of God, you cannot lose. 0.87

00:26:32.000 It's an impossibility, right?

00:26:34.000 Because the word of God is living and active, the Bible says, right?

00:26:37.000 So, the word of God is going to go forth, it is going to accomplish what God wants it to accomplish.

00:26:43.000 Don't let these people shut you down, and that's my mission.

00:26:46.000 Absolutely.

00:26:47.000 What would you say right now if you just take a look at the world, you take a look at the culture here in the United States of America from a biblical perspective?

00:26:54.000 I know we could pick anything, but you, your own heart, through your own eyes, what do you see that is concerning you the most right now in this moment in time that you see the culture just opening up their arms to from a biblical perspective?

00:27:07.000 How are you addressing that?

00:27:10.000 The biggest thing I see happening, I think I'm gonna tell it from a church perspective if I can, because I believe that if the church gets the truth of Christ right, then we will be a prophetic voice to the world.

00:27:23.000 That's what we have to do, so it's got to start here.

00:27:26.000 And what I see happening is the church wanting to dumb down.

00:27:31.000 Maybe I should say it like this: the church no longer believes in absolute truth.

00:27:35.000 That's what I'm trying to say.

00:27:36.000 Don't believe the Bible is authoritative.

00:27:39.000 We don't believe that the Bible is inerrant.

00:27:41.000 We think the Bible has got some really good ideas.

00:27:43.000 But guess what?

00:27:44.000 The world's got some good ideas too.

00:27:46.000 But according to total depravity, that's wrong.

00:27:49.000 The world does not have good ideas.

00:27:51.000 They are anti-Christ.

00:27:52.000 They are anti-truth because they set themselves up against the gospel of Jesus Christ, right?

00:27:59.000 So they actually, we don't hate them, but they don't have good ideas.

00:28:04.000 The truth of Jesus Christ will win.

00:28:06.000 So what I see happening is the church getting like, we don't want to offend people.

00:28:12.000 We don't want to make them mad.

00:28:14.000 It's going to give people the sads.

00:28:16.000 Just be nice, be happy.

00:28:20.000 And in the end, what is happening is that now we've got like, what is it, 8% of professing Christians believe in objective truth?

00:28:29.000 That's really not good.

00:28:31.000 And I think another way that it is outworking itself, if you guys don't mind if I preach a little bit, because you guys care here about sex trafficking, you guys care here about abortion.

00:28:42.000 You guys care about a lot of things that I care a lot about too.

00:28:46.000 So we just need to mention it now.

00:28:47.000 It is a travesty that the church just doesn't look that much different than the world.

00:28:53.000 It's remarkable to me. 0.72

00:28:56.000 And I think if we're going to lump all these things together, sex trafficking, abortion, we have to lump pornography in with this.

00:29:04.000 When are we going to see some godly men say, enough pornography?

00:29:09.000 It's evil. 0.97

00:29:10.000 It's wicked.

00:29:11.000 No, it's not okay.

00:29:14.000 It's all a part of the same thing.

00:29:16.000 And we have just, you know, if you look at the statistics of people in sin in the church, people that sin in the world, they're not really that much different.

00:29:25.000 But I believe that if we were to flip that around, I think the world would then see something different in us.

00:29:32.000 I think that we would have women in the world looking and say, well, how come those men are different than those men?

00:29:40.000 That'd be pretty powerful, right?

00:29:42.000 How come those guys are different?

00:29:43.000 How come those men protect their family a lot better than those men?

00:29:47.000 Maybe I want a little bit of a taste of that.

00:29:49.000 That's what the kingdom of God is: righteousness, peace, joy, and the Holy Spirit.

00:29:54.000 And when you live in that life, it's like the pool.

00:29:56.000 And people that aren't, they don't get to play in the pool, but they get to be around the pool.

00:30:01.000 And sometimes somebody jumps in the pool and it splashes off into somebody that does not know Jesus Christ.

00:30:07.000 And they get a little bit of taste of righteousness, a little bit of taste of peace, a little taste of joy in the Holy Ghost.

00:30:14.000 And they say, maybe I want to jump into that pool, baby.

00:30:18.000 Yes, you do.

00:30:19.000 Absolutely.

00:30:20.000 Yes, you do.

00:30:21.000 It requires total boldness.

00:30:22.000 You know, right now I've been telling people, I've been doing interviews, and people have been asking me the same question.

00:30:27.000 Like, where really are we?

00:30:29.000 You know, and right now, there literally is no room for any lukewarmness.

00:30:35.000 I mean, they're like when Jesus made it very clear, either with me or against me, right now that rings true more than ever.

00:30:42.000 I mean, the way that you could take the temperature of a culture and where they're really at is how they treat their children, right?

00:30:48.000 And right now, this whole groomer agenda, these people literally want your kids.

00:30:52.000 They tell you out in the open.

00:30:54.000 Disney is coming out and saying we have a not-so-secret gay agenda. 1.00

00:30:57.000 These people want to mutilate the genitals of your children. 1.00

00:31:00.000 These people literally want to take your kids away from you. 0.98

00:31:04.000 This is the society that you live in right now.

00:31:06.000 And they want to normalize that.

00:31:09.000 That's where we've gotten right now.

00:31:11.000 Where, yes, this has been happening in society for thousands of years.

00:31:15.000 But right now, here in 2022, you're living in a time in society where they are trying to normalize this out in the open in the culture.

00:31:24.000 I mean, if anyone's going to come out and say no, it has to be the church.

00:31:30.000 If anyone's going to come out, If anyone's going to come out with the loudest voice of righteousness against these doctrines of demons, it has to be the church.

00:31:45.000 It has to be those filled with light.

00:31:47.000 It has to be those filled with the Spirit of God.

00:31:49.000 That's every single one of you.

00:31:51.000 If you are born again tonight, that is you.

00:31:55.000 That is you right now.

00:31:57.000 Let's transition because speaking of the church, I'm pretty sure you guys are seeing this all over social media.

00:32:03.000 There's this attack.

00:32:04.000 There's this Christian nationalism, right? 0.99

00:32:08.000 Christian nationalism is such a horrible and bad thing. 0.99

00:32:11.000 As if thou shalt not kill, to kill is a bad thing, right? 0.99

00:32:15.000 Oh, to love your neighbor as yourself is such a horrible and evil thing to implement in society, right?

00:32:19.000 It's quite the opposite.

00:32:20.000 If you ask me, what's your take on this Christian nationalism thing and people coming out in the mainstream and saying, oh, this is a horrible fascist dictatorial takeover here in the United States of America? 0.67

00:32:30.000 Yeah, the Christian nationalism thing is a complete boogeyman. 1.00

00:32:36.000 It's not real.

00:32:37.000 It's a red herring, right? 0.64

00:32:38.000 Now, that's not to say that there isn't anybody that is involved in idolatry of America.

00:32:43.000 There are people like that, but it's not actually that many.

00:32:46.000 What they want to do is they want to tie anyone that says, well, I have an opinion on morality.

00:32:53.000 I have an opinion on politics or something like that based on the word of God.

00:32:56.000 Anybody that says that, unless it's pointed in one direction.

00:33:02.000 If it's pointed in the direction of conservatism, they want to say it's Christian nationalism.

00:33:07.000 But if you say, hey, I actually think we need 70% taxes because Jesus cared for the poor, that's not considered Christian nationalism.

00:33:15.000 So it only goes one way.

00:33:17.000 So it's a complete red herring.

00:33:20.000 The reason I started speaking up so much about this stuff is really precisely what you're saying right now.

00:33:25.000 It has to be the church to say something.

00:33:28.000 It has to be the church because we believe in truth that is grounded in something.

00:33:32.000 Our feet are on something solid.

00:33:34.000 They're not just ideas, right?

00:33:36.000 They're not just, well, that's kind of how I was raised.

00:33:38.000 Our feet are grounded in something extremely solid.

00:33:42.000 The reason I started speaking up was like, all right, you know what?

00:33:44.000 If I don't speak up now, I might lose the right to ever speak up again.

00:33:49.000 Absolutely.

00:33:50.000 Now, that might sound, you know, to some people, they go, oh, John, that sounds crazy.

00:33:50.000 Right.

00:33:55.000 But I got to tell you what, I looked in 2020 when we started to have a country that said, California, I got some friends from California, some of them are over here.

00:34:06.000 You're from California.

00:34:08.000 I was there.

00:34:08.000 That's right.

00:34:09.000 When they start saying in California to Pastor John MacArthur, for instance, hey, you can go to a strip club.

00:34:17.000 You can go to an abortion clinic.

00:34:20.000 You can go buy weed.

00:34:23.000 You can go buy liquor, but you may not go to church.

00:34:27.000 You got to back off.

00:34:28.000 You do not have that kind of authority under the Constitution.

00:34:33.000 But more importantly, don't just back off.

00:34:37.000 You need to be rebuked because there is a king who is an authority above you.

00:34:42.000 The world is owned by King Jesus.

00:34:44.000 It is not owned by you.

00:34:47.000 I couldn't take it.

00:34:48.000 But what made me even more upset was the amount of Christians rebuking Pastor MacArthur.

00:34:57.000 Christians saying, oh, you shouldn't be making such a stink about this and this and this. 0.80

00:35:01.000 And I just think...

00:35:02.000 You're making us look bad.

00:35:04.000 You're making us look bad.

00:35:05.000 For righteousness' sake, fine.

00:35:07.000 It's like they already hate you anyway, bruh.

00:35:10.000 They don't like you anyway.

00:35:11.000 Nothing you do is going to make them like you.

00:35:13.000 You know that, right?

00:35:14.000 Absolutely.

00:35:15.000 So they're coming after you one way or the other.

00:35:17.000 That is when I just said, okay, you know what?

00:35:21.000 I'm writing a new book right now.

00:35:23.000 Maybe I will, for the first time, announce the name of the book tonight.

00:35:27.000 This seems like the right audience to do that.

00:35:29.000 Breaking news.

00:35:30.000 Let's do it.

00:35:31.000 Yeah.

00:35:32.000 The name of the new book I'm writing is this, Wimpy, Weak, and Woke.

00:35:38.000 That's the name of the new book.

00:35:44.000 And the subtitle is, How Weak Christianity is Destroying America and How Truth Will Save Her, not can save her, how truth will save her.

00:35:57.000 And the reason I'm writing is because I see so many churches afraid to stay.

00:36:02.000 They think that if we just do this and this, the world's going to like us.

00:36:05.000 What they don't understand is this.

00:36:06.000 If they can shut your church down, they can shut you in your house.

00:36:11.000 If they can shut you in your house, they can force you to get a jab.

00:36:15.000 If they can force you to get a jab for this, they can force you to get a jab for something else.

00:36:19.000 If they can force you to get a jab, they can force you to have a one-child policy.

00:36:23.000 If they can force you to get a one-child policy, they can force you to let your 10-year-old kid transition and mutilate their body, or you just might have to go to jail. 0.86

00:36:35.000 We are not that far from that.

00:36:37.000 And that's not fear-mongering.

00:36:39.000 That's just watching the news.

00:36:41.000 But there is a call for, I believe, for the people of God to rise up in love and say, no, you do not have that authority.

00:36:48.000 Jesus Christ is the king of the universe.

00:36:51.000 Absolutely.

00:36:52.000 Absolutely.

00:36:53.000 Praise God.

00:36:54.000 I think we got some time to start setting up for our Q ⁇ A.

00:36:54.000 Amen.

00:36:58.000 But as they get set up for the Q ⁇ A, John, what is your message to this current generation right now?

00:37:05.000 What is your message to the church?

00:37:08.000 What is your encouragement?

00:37:10.000 What are you imploring to the church?

00:37:12.000 Those that are possibly watching online, those that are here sitting here tonight, if this was your last night alive, what would you say to the church?

00:37:21.000 Yeah, you know what?

00:37:22.000 I think I would love to answer that question directly to young people, maybe college age, high school, junior, high school age.

00:37:30.000 I think what I would just say is this, like, a lot of young people today believe, and I'm not making fun of you, you believe it because you've been taught it in your schools and your whatever.

00:37:42.000 I don't know.

00:37:43.000 But you've been taught that humans are good.

00:37:46.000 We are good people.

00:37:47.000 We can fix all of our own problems.

00:37:50.000 These things are not true, by the way.

00:37:52.000 We need Jesus so bad and we need a fresh dose of mercy every single morning.

00:37:57.000 Thank God that his mercies are new every single morning, but we are not born good.

00:38:02.000 And I guess what I would say to young people is just this.

00:38:05.000 One simple question.

00:38:08.000 How's it going?

00:38:11.000 How's it going?

00:38:12.000 Do you feel like you have peace in your life when every single day you get new rules for what you're allowed to say, what you are not allowed to say, who you have to call by a new name or a new this, or you're going to get canceled?

00:38:30.000 How's it going?

00:38:31.000 How's it going when you don't even know what is actually moral and what is immoral?

00:38:36.000 Our young people are being taught right now, for instance, you should never feel shame about anything.

00:38:42.000 I don't think that's actually accurate.

00:38:45.000 Actually, I think that shame can be a good thing because it could just be the Holy Spirit in your heart saying, hey, you're not supposed to be doing that.

00:38:54.000 But good news, there is a God who will forgive you and empower you to say no the next time.

00:39:00.000 Shame is not a terrible thing.

00:39:03.000 I would say to young people, how's it going?

00:39:07.000 Wouldn't you love to have something under your feet to plant your feet into?

00:39:15.000 So first of all, so you even know that you matter.

00:39:19.000 Because without Jesus, without God, without a God that created this world, how do you know that you matter?

00:39:26.000 I believe that you matter, but how do you know that you matter?

00:39:28.000 Why would you matter?

00:39:30.000 If all of this is random chance and just a chaotic universe and it just spit us out magically, then maybe you don't matter.

00:39:39.000 That's my question.

00:39:40.000 How do you even know that you matter?

00:39:42.000 What do you want to live for?

00:39:43.000 Wouldn't it be great to know the creator of the universe?

00:39:49.000 Wouldn't it be great to find out that with all this stuff that we see, all this, all this galaxy, wouldn't it be great to know that he also knows your name?

00:39:59.000 And he knows your pain.

00:40:00.000 He knows what you're going through at school, your anxiety and your depression and your friends that don't like you and all the pressure you're under at school.

00:40:07.000 He knows those things and he cares about those things.

00:40:11.000 Wouldn't it be great to have something to put your feet in that you say, this is the word of God and it is right and it never changes and it is alive today and it is going to give me not just hope for the future when I die.

00:40:26.000 It's going to give me hope for today to order my life that I can live in a way that's going to not only please my creator, but it's going to cause me to flourish.

00:40:36.000 And that's what the word of God is.

00:40:38.000 When you go to the word of God, you have come to God himself.

00:40:41.000 That's what I would tell young people.

00:40:43.000 Absolutely.

00:40:44.000 Amen to that.

00:40:50.000 You know, the Bible says always be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within you.

00:40:53.000 One thing I will say is we have an entire generation that is being lied to on a grand mass scale to the point of mutilating their own bodies.

00:41:05.000 You know, at some point, they're going to come running looking for answers.

00:41:09.000 And when they come running looking for answers, they're going to come looking for truth, absolute truth, because they're going to be so disillusioned that everywhere they went to, their closest friends, even their own parents, doctors that they look up to that told them to do this kind of stuff.

00:41:24.000 They're going to realize that everyone around them has lied to them.

00:41:27.000 But when they come looking for the truth, they're going to find it.

00:41:29.000 This is why you are the light of the world.

00:41:32.000 Because when darkness is at its all-time high, the church is always going to shine brightest in the universe itself.

00:41:41.000 That's right.

00:41:42.000 So I'll leave that with you guys.

00:41:44.000 Let's get started with this QA.

00:41:45.000 If you guys have any questions for myself or for John as well, let's transition into a time of that.

00:41:54.000 We got some right here, John.

00:41:56.000 Hi, I'd like to ask.

00:41:58.000 What's your name, buddy?

00:41:59.000 Micah.

00:42:02.000 Welcome.

00:42:04.000 Hi.

00:42:06.000 I wanted to ask, are you going to come visit our school?

00:42:13.000 Am I going to come play your school?

00:42:15.000 Yeah.

00:42:16.000 I don't know.

00:42:17.000 I don't think I am.

00:42:18.000 What if I sing something now for you?

00:42:20.000 I'll do this.

00:42:21.000 You make me feel invincible.

00:42:24.000 Earthquake powerful.

00:42:26.000 Just like a title wave.

00:42:28.000 You make me pray.

00:42:29.000 Joe, my titanium.

00:42:32.000 Fight song raising up.

00:42:34.000 Like the rock of victory in a stadium.

00:42:38.000 Who can touch me?

00:42:40.000 Cause I'm.

00:42:42.000 Who can me?

00:42:44.000 Cause I'm.

00:42:46.000 You make me feel.

00:42:50.000 That was for free.

00:42:51.000 You don't have to pay me for that.

00:42:53.000 You do not have to pay me for that.

00:42:58.000 I know a lot of parents are like, what?

00:43:00.000 Is that singing?

00:43:01.000 That's my voice.

00:43:02.000 I'm sorry.

00:43:04.000 My mom doesn't like it either.

00:43:08.000 Okay, who's next?

00:43:10.000 Hi, my name is Anderson.

00:43:12.000 So I want to like do music as a career.

00:43:14.000 I want to be a singer as well.

00:43:16.000 And I was wondering, how did you kind of like stay strong with your faith and also kind of like navigate through the music industry when there's a bunch of like deceit and deception in it?

00:43:26.000 Yeah, that's awesome.

00:43:27.000 Good luck to you.

00:43:28.000 I hope it goes really great.

00:43:30.000 I think for me, always knowing who you are on the front end is so important because the entertainment industry does not care about you.

00:43:40.000 They just want to make money off of you.

00:43:42.000 They want to chew you up and spit you out as long as they get some money at the end of the day.

00:43:47.000 So you have to know who you are.

00:43:49.000 And I think there's some practical things you can do with that.

00:43:51.000 I have a Christian manager.

00:43:53.000 I'm telling you, it's really hard to find Christian management.

00:43:56.000 And I'll tell you what.

00:43:57.000 I'll tell you what the devil can do in case you don't know.

00:44:00.000 The devil will say a lot of things that sound true, but they are lies.

00:44:05.000 But they sound really kind of like something God might say.

00:44:08.000 You know what I mean?

00:44:09.000 But did God really say?

00:44:10.000 That's from the Bible, by the way.

00:44:12.000 But that's what the devil does.

00:44:14.000 And I've had lots of Christian friends and bands, and they have not had Christian managers, and their managers have taken them in bad situations.

00:44:22.000 And one little compromise takes you to the next compromise, takes you to the next.

00:44:26.000 And before you know it, you don't recognize yourself anymore.

00:44:30.000 So know who you are.

00:44:32.000 Do something wise.

00:44:33.000 Get a Christian manager and make decisions on the front end so you're not in the situation going, I don't know who I am. 1.00

00:44:40.000 You got to know who you are.

00:44:41.000 Be rooted in the word of God.

00:44:43.000 That's what I would say.

00:44:51.000 Hi, John.

00:44:52.000 Just like you, I'm also from Southeast Wisconsin.

00:44:54.000 And as I'm watching all these things like what happened in Kenosha a couple years ago, I'm kind of wondering how as Christians we can approach people who are involved in things like that, people who are involved in these kind of horrific events and how we can still show love amidst all that.

00:45:15.000 That's great.

00:45:16.000 Yeah, you know what?

00:45:17.000 I was so nervous when I first came.

00:45:19.000 I'm not used to having a guitar and singing really loud, so this was a little weird.

00:45:23.000 I forgot to say, I live in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where you are doing the thing.

00:45:28.000 So Kyle Rittenhouse, that was three blocks from my house.

00:45:32.000 All right.

00:45:33.000 So that was a very unusual time.

00:45:35.000 My city got destroyed.

00:45:38.000 I saw Christian people supporting the violence, frankly. 1.00

00:45:43.000 I saw Christian people mad at people like me that were saying, you can't go burn buildings down.

00:45:49.000 It was a really difficult time.

00:45:51.000 And I will not lie to you.

00:45:53.000 I do not always handle this the right way because I get really riled up when it comes to truth.

00:45:59.000 And I just get kind of John the Baptisty.

00:46:03.000 I mean, which can be good, but it's not always the best.

00:46:06.000 So I will be honest.

00:46:08.000 I'm working.

00:46:09.000 I'm trying to be a better me, Pastor.

00:46:11.000 Anyway, I don't always do the best.

00:46:15.000 So let me tell you the one thing I think that I am good at.

00:46:19.000 And then I'll just be honest with me and you're going to have to figure that out together because I don't know.

00:46:22.000 But I will tell you what the answer is not, I believe.

00:46:26.000 I believe the answer is not being so polite that we don't say stuff that's true.

00:46:32.000 Not being so nice that we don't stand up for what's right.

00:46:36.000 So truth is truth, right?

00:46:39.000 You know what I mean?

00:46:40.000 John the Baptist probably could have said stuff a little nicer to Herod. 0.61

00:46:43.000 Maybe he wouldn't have had his head on a plate at the end of the day.

00:46:47.000 He probably could have found a nicer way to say it, but you know, the prophet doesn't always go that way.

00:46:52.000 I'm not saying I'm a prophet, John the Baptist was, but I'm just, you know, making, you get it. 0.69

00:46:57.000 I'm not.

00:46:58.000 I'm just saying.

00:46:59.000 If I were, no, I'm kidding.

00:47:04.000 I know I didn't even answer your question.

00:47:06.000 I'm being honest and say I'm not nice enough to know the answer to that.

00:47:10.000 Actually, that's not true.

00:47:11.000 I will tell you one thing I am trying to do now is to not always assume that I know what that person thinks.

00:47:19.000 I'll say this.

00:47:20.000 You guys know that right now there's a lot of words we all use.

00:47:24.000 Systemic racism.

00:47:25.000 That's a good example.

00:47:26.000 We all use these words, but we don't all mean the same things when we say those words.

00:47:31.000 Like, for instance, when Joe Biden says democracy, he doesn't mean what I mean when I say democracy.

00:47:36.000 I'm not being rude.

00:47:38.000 I'm just saying, yeah.

00:47:42.000 He's kind of into the French Revolution.

00:47:45.000 I'm kind of into the American Revolution.

00:47:47.000 It's a thing.

00:47:48.000 But we don't always mean the same things.

00:47:50.000 So if somebody's said, blah, blah, blah, blah, and systemic racism, I don't need to automatically jump and go, oh, okay, they've been reading Ibram Kendi.

00:48:01.000 And what they mean by that is this and white privilege and this and critical race theory and Stokely Carmichael.

00:48:07.000 You know, you don't have to do that.

00:48:09.000 And I do that because I just like to get to the foundation.

00:48:12.000 So what I've been trying to do with people is be like, okay, that's interesting.

00:48:16.000 And inside I'm like, and on my face, I'm like, what do you mean when you say systemic racism?

00:48:27.000 And then I make notes.

00:48:29.000 No, kid, I don't mean.

00:48:31.000 But you know what I mean?

00:48:32.000 That's what I'm trying to do.

00:48:34.000 I don't always do the best.

00:48:35.000 I think I'm probably nicer than him.

00:48:36.000 That's the feeling I got.

00:48:37.000 I heard him doing his podcast.

00:48:38.000 I might be nicer than you.

00:48:41.000 It's not for everyone.

00:48:42.000 I'll tell you that right now.

00:48:43.000 But, you know, I watched Kyle Rittenhouse shoot and kill in self-defense when I was in Kenosha.

00:48:53.000 And so as a Christian watching these things and the 2020 riots, it was really kind of like a test on my heart and my faith and learning how to deal with certain people like this, being undercover in Antifa, literally hunting me on Twitter, trying to find me and not to have a polite conversation with me.

00:49:11.000 So it's kind of like this balance, right?

00:49:14.000 Because you take a look at the Bible, and on one hand, you are called to be a righteous light exposing darkness.

00:49:21.000 On the other hand, you're called to love the world as Christ gave his life for us at the same time, right?

00:49:27.000 So as you are casting out your seed, as you are casting out the word of God, you might be having an interaction with one person.

00:49:35.000 It might be an unbeliever in your home. 1.00

00:49:36.000 It might be an unbeliever at work or it might be an unbeliever.

00:49:40.000 Who knows, right?

00:49:41.000 But your behavior and your character never changes.

00:49:43.000 This is why you have to be above reproach, right?

00:49:46.000 So as you're having these interactions, you never know.

00:49:48.000 And I'm just telling you guys what's happened to me.

00:49:50.000 I've had one-on-one interactions with people at leftist protests who hate me.

00:49:55.000 And then all of a sudden there's like 20 other people standing around me actually listening to what I'm saying and their minds are just like unlocked.

00:50:04.000 So you never know who your audience is.

00:50:06.000 You never know who's watching.

00:50:07.000 You never know who's listening.

00:50:08.000 Your character, your message, and your heart should never change.

00:50:12.000 Amen.

00:50:13.000 That's good.

00:50:18.000 Hey, so I was wondering, how do you take a leap of faith to just like, if you don't have that platform, so how do you take that leap of faith to just proclaim that truth?

00:50:31.000 You know the truth, but you like, how do you proclaim it without like being shut down?

00:50:36.000 Sure, sure.

00:50:37.000 Yeah, I think that, you know, I think it's one of those things when not everybody's maybe called to the same thing, right?

00:50:44.000 You know, some people are called to do this public thing, whatever.

00:50:47.000 You know, I have two kids that are both teenagers.

00:50:50.000 My daughter's almost 20.

00:50:52.000 And I just try to encourage my kids, like, you just need to stand for truth where you're at.

00:50:56.000 You stand with truth with your friends.

00:50:59.000 You love them.

00:51:00.000 And if they don't agree with you, you hang out with them still.

00:51:02.000 You love them.

00:51:03.000 You're the friend.

00:51:04.000 But you begin to stand for radical truth telling wherever you're at.

00:51:08.000 And that's usually what I encourage people to do.

00:51:10.000 It's not for everybody to jump on those public platforms.

00:51:14.000 And, you know, people get really mad and stuff like that.

00:51:17.000 You know, I think Skillet was, I'm proud to say, Either the first or the second band, and one of the only bands in the world that went on social media and I said, I refuse to play vaccine-mandated shows. 0.77

00:51:31.000 Will not do it.

00:51:32.000 It's a matter, it's conviction, will not do it, right?

00:51:36.000 And at the time, we didn't know if that means we would ever get to play.

00:51:42.000 In other words, we don't know if there was going to be a time when those shows would open up.

00:51:45.000 Is this going to cost you money?

00:51:46.000 It definitely costs you fans.

00:51:48.000 That's not always a great thing to do, but you'll know it in your heart.

00:51:52.000 You'll know when that time comes in your heart where you go, ah, this is the moment that God wants me to say something.

00:51:58.000 This is the moment I'm supposed to say it now.

00:52:00.000 And that's what I believe anyway.

00:52:05.000 Do I stop or do I stay where I'm at until God says, go?

00:52:11.000 I would always stop until God says go.

00:52:14.000 That is a great way.

00:52:15.000 Keep praying about it.

00:52:16.000 Because if God wants you to do it, I believe he's going to lead you.

00:52:20.000 It would be counterintuitive for his spirit not to do so.

00:52:23.000 So I would think that if he wants you to speak, he's going to put it in your heart.

00:52:27.000 And maybe it's hard to describe, but that kind of burning feeling when it's not out of anger, but you're like, oh, I just feel like God's just, he's doing something and I got to get it out.

00:52:37.000 To me, I've found that that's usually the voice of the Lord.

00:52:41.000 Amen.

00:52:42.000 All right, guys, we got about 10 minutes left.

00:52:44.000 So let's get our questions quick and to the point.

00:52:46.000 Okay.

00:52:47.000 Hi, I'm in.

00:52:48.000 Good evening, by the way.

00:52:49.000 And I would like to get both of you guys' opinion on this question.

00:52:54.000 What is your outlook and your position on this neo-radical moment for the underage kids to get sex changes and things like that?

00:53:05.000 I'll take this one. 0.91

00:53:06.000 I hate it. 0.92

00:53:07.000 I hate it with every righteous fiber inside of me.

00:53:10.000 I'm just going to be honest.

00:53:14.000 And when I say that, you know, you take a look at the book of Proverbs.

00:53:18.000 There are things that God hates.

00:53:19.000 You look at Proverbs chapter 7.

00:53:20.000 There's this righteous indignation and despising towards these things.

00:53:25.000 I mean, I could take it as far as even Jesus saying, for anyone that causes one of these little ones that believes in me to stumble, let a millstone be tied around their neck and thrown down into the middle of the ocean.

00:53:38.000 Is that offensive to you?

00:53:44.000 So this targeting of the youth, this targeting of children, their bodies to sexualize them, whether it's gay, straight, or trans, is from Satan himself to take a child and prop them up like that. 0.52

00:54:02.000 Right now, like I said earlier, my personal opinion is I righteously hate it because I see it for what it is.

00:54:11.000 And what pisses me off the most as a Christian is that you see kids buying into it. 0.88

00:54:17.000 And at the same time, it breaks my heart and it shatters me on a daily basis because you know exactly what path this is going down that's going to take them, right?

00:54:26.000 You know that how abusers work.

00:54:28.000 Abusers gain the trust of their victims.

00:54:31.000 They isolate them.

00:54:32.000 They put them in a corner.

00:54:33.000 They get them to believe that everything that they're saying is true. 0.96

00:54:36.000 And then they turn on them, they violate them, they destroy them and they cast them by the wayside as if they're a piece of trash. 0.97

00:54:43.000 That is what is happening. 0.76

00:54:46.000 Am I too aggressive for you?

00:54:47.000 Because I'm talking about children being violated.

00:54:58.000 I pray.

00:55:00.000 I pray that every single one of you, I pray that every single one of you gets so loud and so righteously angry at this agenda that's targeting the innocence of children on a daily, on a nightly basis.

00:55:13.000 So these people know that it's not okay and it will not be tolerated in the United States of America or the world.

00:55:35.000 I think that says it.

00:55:36.000 I told Charlie I'd be a little reserved tonight, but, you know.

00:55:40.000 They asked the question, Charlie, okay, you know, you know.

00:55:43.000 I wasn't listening.

00:55:46.000 No, I wouldn't mind adding one quick thing if I can, because for people who know my music, you probably won't be surprised to hear this, but Skillet has a load of transgender fans.

00:55:59.000 It's probably to do with the emotion of our music.

00:56:02.000 And I don't know how, I say hello.

00:56:04.000 I don't know how many transgender people I've met at concerts.

00:56:07.000 And the truth is, I really love them.

00:56:09.000 They're great.

00:56:10.000 They're sweet.

00:56:11.000 I shake their hands.

00:56:12.000 I hug them.

00:56:13.000 And I think that what happens is sometimes people think that the, for how evil we think this is, for how evil we think, it's translated into a hatred of a person, which is not accurate in any way.

00:56:28.000 As you said, it breaks your heart.

00:56:29.000 It breaks my heart.

00:56:30.000 What I have noticed, and I think what's so frustrating about this is that the medical institutions, our institutions are all in this together.

00:56:38.000 They know the statistics.

00:56:40.000 This something like 80 to 85% of all people who suffer gender dysphoria will naturally stay with their biological sex by the time they turn, what, 18 or 19 years old.

00:56:51.000 The medical institutions know this, and that's what's so very frustrating about it.

00:56:55.000 What I have found with a lot of people is when I've met them is that they just feel lost.

00:57:01.000 And I'll tell you, my mom died when I was 15.

00:57:04.000 Me and my dad started fighting.

00:57:06.000 I hated my dad for a long time.

00:57:09.000 I felt lost.

00:57:10.000 I know what it's like to feel lost and feel like not a single person's listening or knows what I'm going through.

00:57:16.000 I know what it's like to pray in my room at night and say, God, I'm praying.

00:57:19.000 And you're not listening because nothing's changing.

00:57:21.000 Where are you?

00:57:23.000 I know what that's like.

00:57:24.000 And that's why it's so infuriating to meet these precious people at the concerts that we meet and to say, these people are lying to them for what, who knows what godless agenda has you just, what godless agenda?

00:57:36.000 Is it money?

00:57:36.000 Are they trying to make, who knows what is going on?

00:57:39.000 But they know the same statistics that we do.

00:57:42.000 And so I do think for the church to reach out, create a community.

00:57:46.000 My daughter just said to me last night, she went to this thing, this college group thing.

00:57:49.000 She came back and she's like, Dad, there's so many people here suffering, transgender people. 1.00

00:57:55.000 There's so many people like this.

00:57:56.000 She's like, I just don't think they have community.

00:57:59.000 They don't know what family is like.

00:58:01.000 And she's like, we're going to try to create a family where people feel comfortable and we are going to share the gospel of Jesus Christ that gives you an identity, a God that knows who you are.

00:58:12.000 And it was really a special night for me.

00:58:14.000 So I just wanted to throw that out there.

00:58:19.000 Hi.

00:58:20.000 I just had a quick question on what your take would be with a 20-year-old young man grew up in a Christian home and is now saying he does not believe in organized religion whatsoever.

00:58:32.000 There's a lot of that going on right now, isn't there?

00:58:34.000 I mean, it's an epidemic.

00:58:36.000 It really is.

00:58:37.000 I've never seen anything like it in my lifetime.

00:58:41.000 And I think what you're seeing in America, no, no, no.

00:58:44.000 What you're seeing in the world, in the Western world, is just revolution, right?

00:58:48.000 It's just revolution against anything that came before us.

00:58:51.000 That's what progressivism is anyway.

00:58:53.000 It's just like a denial that anything in the past matters.

00:58:57.000 And I think what you're seeing with a lot of young people, they follow a lot of influencers.

00:59:02.000 And a lot of influencers have been burned.

00:59:04.000 Or maybe somebody gave them the SADS at a church meeting.

00:59:07.000 I don't know what their thing is, but they get really like, and then they go online and they just bash the church.

00:59:15.000 And they don't just say, like, I came to church and you were mean to me, but I'm not mad at you.

00:59:19.000 I'm mad at the church, everybody in Christendom, the visible and invisible church, all of them.

00:59:25.000 And it's really unfair.

00:59:26.000 And so I think what we have to do is just keep preaching the truth of the word of God.

00:59:31.000 They're trying to find a third way option.

00:59:33.000 A lot of people, which is, well, no, I still kind of believe in God, but I'm done with that, you know, yada, yada.

00:59:39.000 In the end, it's not going to be tenable because God has ordained his church to be an institution in the earth to proclaim the good news of Christ, right?

00:59:50.000 The church is the vehicle for the power of God on the earth, really, I believe.

00:59:54.000 So it's not going to be a tenable solution, but we do have to really keep fighting to keep those people tethered to truth because as soon as they kind of move out of organized religion, we're going to call it, they just end up drifting away.

01:00:08.000 But this is an epidemic right now, you know?

01:00:11.000 So that's what I think.

01:00:14.000 Thank you for your question.

01:00:15.000 I think we have time for maybe one more.

01:00:18.000 Hi.

01:00:19.000 I was wondering, how do I deal with kids and teachers at my school bashing me and hating me for me being a Christian?

01:00:30.000 Well, that just makes me angry and proud.

01:00:33.000 Mixed emotions, brother.

01:00:35.000 You keep being a Christian.

01:00:43.000 That's right.

01:00:45.000 That's right.

01:00:46.000 You love.

01:00:47.000 You go for it.

01:00:47.000 Go for it.

01:00:48.000 No, I didn't mean to rub you, brother.

01:00:49.000 No, I just think it's just, man, I know it's hard to say, especially at your age.

01:00:57.000 And I know you probably hate when people say that.

01:00:59.000 And I'm not that old.

01:01:00.000 I'm like 22.

01:01:01.000 Listen.

01:01:05.000 What a privilege it is.

01:01:08.000 I am telling you.

01:01:09.000 What a privilege it is to suffer for the name of Jesus Christ.

01:01:13.000 You will never, ever, you will never be like, I wish I hadn't done that.

01:01:19.000 It is such a privilege that Christ would count you worthy to suffer for that, for him.

01:01:26.000 And so I would just say to you, hey, you know what?

01:01:28.000 Do not stop for an inch.

01:01:30.000 Let that be the fire.

01:01:31.000 What did Charlie say earlier now that he has a kid?

01:01:34.000 You thought it was bad before, and now I got a little girl, son.

01:01:37.000 You know, it's about to get real.

01:01:38.000 And I would just say, let it drive you.

01:01:40.000 Let that drive you.

01:01:42.000 It's a privilege to suffer for Jesus Christ.

01:01:44.000 That's what world changers do.

01:01:46.000 Some of my heroes, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the only Christians in Germany saying to the church, how come you're not saying anything about Hitler?

01:01:54.000 This guy's pretty bad.

01:01:56.000 And the rest of the church is like, dude, Dietrich, Dietrich, Dietrich, you're getting a little too crazy.

01:02:04.000 It's not that big of a deal.

01:02:05.000 And he's like, yes, it is.

01:02:06.000 We got to take this guy out.

01:02:08.000 He suffered for the gospel.

01:02:10.000 So you know what, man?

01:02:12.000 Let them do their thing.

01:02:13.000 You just keep living.

01:02:14.000 And I will tell you one more thing.

01:02:15.000 You said it earlier, which I loved.

01:02:17.000 You raise the standard in your life so that you make yourself a Teflon when people look at your life.

01:02:23.000 This is what I believe.

01:02:25.000 The Old Testament, God says this.

01:02:27.000 Covenant, when you keep God's law, let's say it like this.

01:02:31.000 When you keep God's law, he commands a blessing on your life.

01:02:35.000 If you do not keep his law, he commands a curse on your life.

01:02:39.000 That's what the Bible teaches, right?

01:02:41.000 So guess what?

01:02:42.000 If you keep God's law in your life, people will end up noticing, how come you're more blessed than me?

01:02:50.000 How come you have more peace in your life than I do?

01:02:52.000 How come your relationships are not tainted with sexual immorality and all of mine are?

01:02:57.000 How come you can sleep at night and I can't?

01:02:59.000 Because I got so many demons in my head.

01:03:01.000 There's going to be a blessing attached to the, not just you, the people of God.

01:03:05.000 This is what I believe.

01:03:07.000 The people of God that begin to live out the moral law of God are going to become so blessed in the earth, it's going to be super bright and super dark.

01:03:16.000 And eventually, the dark is either going to turn to the light or they're going to try to imitate the light so that they can receive the blessing.

01:03:25.000 But, but, but God commands a blessing on your life.

01:03:27.000 So, what I believe is that you keep doing what you're doing, people will end up noticing there's something about you that I don't have, and I want a little taste of it.

01:03:36.000 Don't stop.

01:03:38.000 Amen.

01:03:39.000 Amen.

01:03:41.000 All righty, ladies and gentlemen, we want to thank you guys.

01:03:43.000 Tonight was awesome.

01:03:44.000 Praise God.

01:03:45.000 Amazing conversations.

01:03:46.000 John Cooper, man.

01:03:49.000 Give it up for John, you guys.

01:03:56.000 Incredible night.

01:03:57.000 John, is there anywhere that the people could continue to follow your work?

01:04:04.000 Anything specific, your book that's about to release?

01:04:06.000 Is there anything that you would like them to know to be on the lookout for?

01:04:09.000 Sure, I'll do it really quick.

01:04:10.000 So, if you want to follow skillet music, that's where all my music is.

01:04:15.000 Some of you, if you've never heard skillet music, you heard me sing tonight, which means you probably won't dig it.

01:04:19.000 But, but, um, but if you want to follow my podcast to hear more things, we talk about like this, I talk about cultural apologetics, theology, and how that works out into life.

01:04:32.000 And I think that I do it in a way that you could watch with your kids.

01:04:35.000 There's never any cussing on it.

01:04:37.000 It's this: I meet parents, I meet men with their sons that listen to my podcast because we talk about the things that matter.

01:04:44.000 So, Cooper stuff podcast.

01:04:46.000 You can find it anywhere that you like.

01:04:49.000 And other than that, that's it, baby.

01:04:51.000 Awesome.

01:04:52.000 You guys could follow my show, Frontlines, powered by Turning Point USA.

01:04:56.000 It's daily Monday through Friday on Real America's Voice.

01:04:59.000 You can watch it.

01:05:00.000 Thank you guys.

01:05:01.000 Thank you for the RAV family.

01:05:03.000 You guys could watch it at 7:30 Pacific Standard Time.

01:05:06.000 That's 10:30 Eastern every single night.

01:05:10.000 Follow me on Twitter, Drew HLive, and in the link in my bio on Getter and Truth Social, you can find the show links all there.

01:05:16.000 Definitely going to get this guy on the show.

01:05:17.000 I'll tell you that right now.

01:05:18.000 Thank you guys for having us.

01:05:19.000 Pastor Luke is going to come up and lead us in a time of prayer.

01:05:27.000 Thanks so much for listening, everybody.

01:05:28.000 Email me your thoughts as always.

01:05:29.000 Freedom at CharlieKirk.com.

01:05:31.000 Thanks so much for listening.

01:05:32.000 God bless.

01:05:37.000 For more on many of these stories and news you can trust, go to CharlieKirk. com.

The Charlie Kirk Show - September 11, 2022

'Don't Be Surprised If They Hate You' —Skillet's John Cooper LIVE from Freedom Night in America

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