September 14, 2025 • 15 mins
Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Sean shares about their friendship and how we should respond to this terrible act. He prays that this a turning point for our country, similar to 9-11.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Good morning, everybody. This is Sean Copeland. Today is Sunday,
September fourteenth, and welcome to another brand new, life changing
edition of the ninety four x Kingdom Driven CEO. Thank
you everybody, and please forgive my voice every one. I've
(00:32):
got a little bit of allergies have crept in on me,
but I'm very excited to be with you today. We
had a wonderful week. The girls seemed to be doing
well at school. Angela is doing great at work. Fann
had another big football game, got a touchdown a Friday
night and a big win. I had a really nice
(00:53):
day yesterday getting ready for my oldest daughter's birthday party today,
so we're excited to have our family over. It has also,
I know, been a very very difficult week for many
here in our country, and you know, I prayed and
prayed over what to talk about today, and I know
(01:13):
there has been a lot of discussion around the life
of Charlie Kirk and his assassination. But I really felt
called to share something unique with you today, and I
want to first of all tell you that my message
is a little bit slanted and based upon an article
that a friend of mine, B. C. Lee sent me,
(01:33):
and the article is from Michael Clary, who is the
lead pastor of Christ the King Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.
I thought it was so good, and so I began
to really study based upon his article, and that's what
I came up with. I want to visit with you
a little bit today about a turning point in America.
So first of all, I think it's important to know
(01:56):
that I learned about Charlie Kirk passing away from my
son and I went to pick him up from a
football practice and the first thing he said was, Dad,
did you hear about Charlie Kirk? And it really impacted
him and millions and millions of youth all over our country.
(02:17):
I've never really seen a death in my lifetime have
this kind of response. We've had, you know, President shot
and that obviously has an initial response, but this seems
to have had the deepest impact on our country of
anyone that I can recall in my lifetime. And you know,
(02:37):
I know it's been compared to he's been compared to
Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy and that type
of thing. And I'll let others make that call, but
for me, it was very impactful because I knew Charlie Kirk.
We spoke at multiple events together. We were going to
speak again at an event in Washington, d C. In
(03:00):
a couple of weeks. You know, he was only thirty
one years old, as an absolutely beautiful wife and strong
she's a very very strong believer as well Erica, two
beautiful children, and he was just very, very gifted. In
the times that we were together, it was normally before
or after we would speak, and of course, you know,
(03:22):
he was always very unapologetic when he talked. It really
didn't matter who the audience was. I know that's controversial
and some people have gone back and pulled out quotes
of his and and had issue with those, but I
would I would tell you that to get through to
some of the audiences that he is speaking to, I
(03:44):
think he had to use some shock factors sometimes just
to get his point across and make his point. What
I saw was someone who was very kind, very attentive.
He was remarkably present even in lied of being very
busy and in demand all the time. And he was
(04:05):
just an amazingly gifted individual at that age. And to
have his educational level, which was not particularly high, just amazing.
He told it like he saw it. He wasn't sympathetic
to other's points of view. I know he could be
a little bit demeaning at times in the way that
(04:26):
he communicated, but he changed our world. And the scripture
that I'm going to read to you to kind of
talk about today comes from Romans one twenty eight through
thirty two, and interestingly, the headline of this topic in
the Bible, if you read this section of scripture in
the Bible, it's God's wrath against sinful humanity. And this
(04:51):
is Paul speaking to the Romans. And he says furthermore,
just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain
the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to
a depraved mind so that they do what ought not
to be done. They have become filled with every kind
of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They're full of envy, murder, strife, deceit,
(05:12):
and malice. Their gossip slanderers, god haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful.
They invent ways of doing evil. They disobey their parents.
They have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.
Although they know God's righteous to Creed that those who
do such things to serve death, they not only continue
to do these very things, but also approve of those
(05:33):
who practice them. So what he's saying here is that
in a society that is deprived of God, one that
basically where God is not present, this is what happens.
And unfortunately, I think we are seeing this today. So
the question is what do we do with this? In
(05:54):
this time of our world. We are all praying for
a turning point. So let's talk a little bit about
this national tragedy. First of all, before I jump in,
I want to acknowledge that we all deal with these
types of things in a different way. Okay, some are
feeling pain, shock, anger, some are feeling confusion, but remember
(06:18):
when the world shakes, God's word is steady, and the
world shakes all the time. After nine to eleven, churches
across America were full people. They didn't come for politics,
they came for answers. And I pray that that happens
today because many are searching for hope. No question today.
(06:39):
So let's go back to Romans one twenty eight through
thirty two and let's understand the times. So Paul shows
us the progression when a society rejects God, the mind
becomes dark and truth. This exchange for lies evil is celebrated.
This is evident not in just Charlie's murder. And I
(07:00):
want to say that it doesn't appear that this was
an organized murder. This was just a young man who
was frustrated with his politics, and who knows why he
did what he did. But I do think the mockery
and celebration afterwards certainly looks like a Roman's wine culture
on display. Isaiah five twenty warns woe to those who
(07:24):
call evil good and good evil. And I want us
to think a little bit about Nazi Germany. It's an
entire culture that was deceived, celebrating evil as though it
were noble, and Scripture says this happens when God is
no longer acknowledged and present. There is a cost of
following Christ. Jesus warned in John fifteen eighteen that if
(07:46):
they hated me, they will hate you. Also. Stephen, who
was the first martyr in Acts seven with Stone for
declaring truth, Paul was imprisoned and executed. All of the
disciples were brutally murdered prematurely at a premature age. There
(08:08):
is no doubt that Charlie Kirk joins that witness, no
matter what you do, no matter how you feel, because
of him. He was faithful to the truth, and he
was cut down because he spoke the truth. He was,
by definition, a true martyr. Jim Elliot, the missionary to Ecuador,
(08:29):
wrote before his death, he is no fool who gives
what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Jim Elliott was speared at twenty eight years old while
reaching a tribe for Christ. The world thought his death
was waste, but his legacy inspired thousands of missionaries in
the same way. I believe Charlie's death will ignite courage
(08:51):
in many now. Charlie Kirk inspired a generation, calling young
people to faith, family, responsibility, and Kurk. He debated, he taught,
and he pointed consistently to Christ, and his voice will
echo for centuries. I believe after this. Dutrich bonhaff For,
a German pastor who resisted Hitler, was executed weeks before
(09:14):
Germany fell. He said, when Christ calls a man, he
bids him come and die. Like Bonhaff for, Charlie used
his platform to confront cultural evil, even knowing the cost.
Charlie's organization was called turning point, and this moment is
definitely a turning point for us. So what is our
(09:35):
response that is the point of this episode today? I
believe the response should be warm hearts, sharp minds, and
steel spines. Warm hearts. We have to refuse bitterness. Jesus
commands us to love our enemies and pray for those
(09:55):
who persecute us. Corey tan Boom, who was a survivor
of a of the Ravensbrook concentration camp, once met one
of her former Nazi guards after the war. We asked
her for forgiveness. She struggled, but the spirit empowered her
to forgive. That is warm hearted Christianity. We have to
(10:17):
be kind, we have to forgive. We cannot. I know
it's hard when somebody says something that you can't understand,
that seems very hate filled. But God is calling us
to keep a warm heart and this is how we
will show that Christianity is real. But we also have
(10:37):
to have sharp minds. We can't be naive. We have
to know the word. We have to understand the culture.
The Bareans in Acts seventeen searched the scriptures daily to
discern the truth. We have to stand boldly, Paul told Timothy,
God gave us not a spirit of fear, but of power,
(10:59):
love and self control. William Tyndale translated the Bible into
English and was strangled and burned in fifteen thirty six.
His last words, Lord opened the King of England's eyes.
Today we all read the Bible in English because of
his steel spine. So we have to be strong. The
(11:21):
supremacy of Christ and the hope of resurrection is still here.
Our hope is not in politics, movements or leaders. It
is in Christ, crucified and risen. Death could not hold Jesus,
and it will not hold Charlie. When Polycarp, an elderly
pastor in the Early Church, was threatened with burning if
(11:42):
he would deny Christ, he replied, eighty and six years
I have served him and he never did me any wrong.
How then can I blasphem me my King who saved me.
He died joyfully knowing resurrection awaited him. For those in Christ.
To live is Christ to die is gain at is
(12:02):
Philippians one twenty one. So let me leave you with
a closing challenge, just like the name of Charlie's ministry.
Let's make this a turning point. We cannot go back
to casual faith. And some questions I want us to
think about today is will we be silent or will
we speak the truth? Will we live for comfort or
(12:25):
will we live for Christ? I want to call us
to courage, to prayer for Charlie's family, and to recommitment
to following Christ boldly. Charlie Kirk was one of us. Okay,
he was just a thirty one year old man who
was gifted to speak the truth. Now again, maybe not
(12:46):
exactly like everybody thought was appropriate, But most importantly, he
belonged to Christ. And because of that, though the world
hated him, though they took his life, his story is
not over. The gospel he preached lives on the Christ
he followed reigns forever. And now the question is, well,
(13:08):
we have warm hearts, sharp spines, sharp minds, and still
spines for such a time as this. Let me repeat
that again, warm hearts, sharp minds, and steel spines. We
have to be caring, we have to be alert, and
we have to be strong for a time such as this.
(13:30):
And I'm going to take you back thousands of years
to the disciples after Jesus died. Okay. They had to
feel the way many are feeling today. They had to
feel very, very hopeless. They had to believe that their answer,
their king, the person that they had put their hope in,
(13:51):
was killed. They had to believe that it was over
and it was just beginning. Okay. I want us to
remember that nothing has changed for us spiritually. I understand
we have lost a very influential man, but we still
have Jesus. We still have the power of the Cross,
(14:12):
and we still have his strength to carry us through
a time such as this. So please bow with me
this morning to Heavenly Father. This is a very important
time in our country, and Father, I want to say
that I am grieved not only because of the loss
of Charlie, but because of the loss of the Democratic
(14:32):
lawmakers in Minnesota, because of the school shootings, because of
just the violence that is occurring in our country. And
I am not excusing anyone. I understand that this vitriol
comes from both sides, and that this the language and
the divisiveness comes from both sides. I am not here
(14:52):
today to judge anyone in any way. I am simply
here to say there has to be a better way. So, Father,
we ask you, just like during nine to eleven when
you brought so many back to you and for a
moment our world experience, our country in particular, experienced unity
(15:14):
of purpose and unity together, help that same thing to
happen now. Help this to be a turning point where
we come back to you. We love you, Father, we
thank you, and we pray for Erica and the kids
as they go through this very very difficult time in
losing their husband and their father. In Jesus' name, A men,
(15:39):
and I want to thank you all so much for
being here for this very important edition of the ninety
four X Kingdom Driven CEO
Good morning, everybody. This is Sean Copeland. Today is Sunday,
September fourteenth, and welcome to another brand new, life changing
edition of the ninety four x Kingdom Driven CEO. Thank
you everybody, and please forgive my voice every one. I've
(00:32):
got a little bit of allergies have crept in on me,
but I'm very excited to be with you today. We
had a wonderful week. The girls seemed to be doing
well at school. Angela is doing great at work. Fann
had another big football game, got a touchdown a Friday
night and a big win. I had a really nice
(00:53):
day yesterday getting ready for my oldest daughter's birthday party today,
so we're excited to have our family over. It has also,
I know, been a very very difficult week for many
here in our country, and you know, I prayed and
prayed over what to talk about today, and I know
(01:13):
there has been a lot of discussion around the life
of Charlie Kirk and his assassination. But I really felt
called to share something unique with you today, and I
want to first of all tell you that my message
is a little bit slanted and based upon an article
that a friend of mine, B. C. Lee sent me,
(01:33):
and the article is from Michael Clary, who is the
lead pastor of Christ the King Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.
I thought it was so good, and so I began
to really study based upon his article, and that's what
I came up with. I want to visit with you
a little bit today about a turning point in America.
So first of all, I think it's important to know
(01:56):
that I learned about Charlie Kirk passing away from my
son and I went to pick him up from a
football practice and the first thing he said was, Dad,
did you hear about Charlie Kirk? And it really impacted
him and millions and millions of youth all over our country.
(02:17):
I've never really seen a death in my lifetime have
this kind of response. We've had, you know, President shot
and that obviously has an initial response, but this seems
to have had the deepest impact on our country of
anyone that I can recall in my lifetime. And you know,
(02:37):
I know it's been compared to he's been compared to
Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy and that type
of thing. And I'll let others make that call, but
for me, it was very impactful because I knew Charlie Kirk.
We spoke at multiple events together. We were going to
speak again at an event in Washington, d C. In
(03:00):
a couple of weeks. You know, he was only thirty
one years old, as an absolutely beautiful wife and strong
she's a very very strong believer as well Erica, two
beautiful children, and he was just very, very gifted. In
the times that we were together, it was normally before
or after we would speak, and of course, you know,
(03:22):
he was always very unapologetic when he talked. It really
didn't matter who the audience was. I know that's controversial
and some people have gone back and pulled out quotes
of his and and had issue with those, but I
would I would tell you that to get through to
some of the audiences that he is speaking to, I
(03:44):
think he had to use some shock factors sometimes just
to get his point across and make his point. What
I saw was someone who was very kind, very attentive.
He was remarkably present even in lied of being very
busy and in demand all the time. And he was
(04:05):
just an amazingly gifted individual at that age. And to
have his educational level, which was not particularly high, just amazing.
He told it like he saw it. He wasn't sympathetic
to other's points of view. I know he could be
a little bit demeaning at times in the way that
(04:26):
he communicated, but he changed our world. And the scripture
that I'm going to read to you to kind of
talk about today comes from Romans one twenty eight through
thirty two, and interestingly, the headline of this topic in
the Bible, if you read this section of scripture in
the Bible, it's God's wrath against sinful humanity. And this
(04:51):
is Paul speaking to the Romans. And he says furthermore,
just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain
the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to
a depraved mind so that they do what ought not
to be done. They have become filled with every kind
of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They're full of envy, murder, strife, deceit,
(05:12):
and malice. Their gossip slanderers, god haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful.
They invent ways of doing evil. They disobey their parents.
They have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.
Although they know God's righteous to Creed that those who
do such things to serve death, they not only continue
to do these very things, but also approve of those
(05:33):
who practice them. So what he's saying here is that
in a society that is deprived of God, one that
basically where God is not present, this is what happens.
And unfortunately, I think we are seeing this today. So
the question is what do we do with this? In
(05:54):
this time of our world. We are all praying for
a turning point. So let's talk a little bit about
this national tragedy. First of all, before I jump in,
I want to acknowledge that we all deal with these
types of things in a different way. Okay, some are
feeling pain, shock, anger, some are feeling confusion, but remember
(06:18):
when the world shakes, God's word is steady, and the
world shakes all the time. After nine to eleven, churches
across America were full people. They didn't come for politics,
they came for answers. And I pray that that happens
today because many are searching for hope. No question today.
(06:39):
So let's go back to Romans one twenty eight through
thirty two and let's understand the times. So Paul shows
us the progression when a society rejects God, the mind
becomes dark and truth. This exchange for lies evil is celebrated.
This is evident not in just Charlie's murder. And I
(07:00):
want to say that it doesn't appear that this was
an organized murder. This was just a young man who
was frustrated with his politics, and who knows why he
did what he did. But I do think the mockery
and celebration afterwards certainly looks like a Roman's wine culture
on display. Isaiah five twenty warns woe to those who
(07:24):
call evil good and good evil. And I want us
to think a little bit about Nazi Germany. It's an
entire culture that was deceived, celebrating evil as though it
were noble, and Scripture says this happens when God is
no longer acknowledged and present. There is a cost of
following Christ. Jesus warned in John fifteen eighteen that if
(07:46):
they hated me, they will hate you. Also. Stephen, who
was the first martyr in Acts seven with Stone for
declaring truth, Paul was imprisoned and executed. All of the
disciples were brutally murdered prematurely at a premature age. There
(08:08):
is no doubt that Charlie Kirk joins that witness, no
matter what you do, no matter how you feel, because
of him. He was faithful to the truth, and he
was cut down because he spoke the truth. He was,
by definition, a true martyr. Jim Elliot, the missionary to Ecuador,
(08:29):
wrote before his death, he is no fool who gives
what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Jim Elliott was speared at twenty eight years old while
reaching a tribe for Christ. The world thought his death
was waste, but his legacy inspired thousands of missionaries in
the same way. I believe Charlie's death will ignite courage
(08:51):
in many now. Charlie Kirk inspired a generation, calling young
people to faith, family, responsibility, and Kurk. He debated, he taught,
and he pointed consistently to Christ, and his voice will
echo for centuries. I believe after this. Dutrich bonhaff For,
a German pastor who resisted Hitler, was executed weeks before
(09:14):
Germany fell. He said, when Christ calls a man, he
bids him come and die. Like Bonhaff for, Charlie used
his platform to confront cultural evil, even knowing the cost.
Charlie's organization was called turning point, and this moment is
definitely a turning point for us. So what is our
(09:35):
response that is the point of this episode today? I
believe the response should be warm hearts, sharp minds, and
steel spines. Warm hearts. We have to refuse bitterness. Jesus
commands us to love our enemies and pray for those
(09:55):
who persecute us. Corey tan Boom, who was a survivor
of a of the Ravensbrook concentration camp, once met one
of her former Nazi guards after the war. We asked
her for forgiveness. She struggled, but the spirit empowered her
to forgive. That is warm hearted Christianity. We have to
(10:17):
be kind, we have to forgive. We cannot. I know
it's hard when somebody says something that you can't understand,
that seems very hate filled. But God is calling us
to keep a warm heart and this is how we
will show that Christianity is real. But we also have
(10:37):
to have sharp minds. We can't be naive. We have
to know the word. We have to understand the culture.
The Bareans in Acts seventeen searched the scriptures daily to
discern the truth. We have to stand boldly, Paul told Timothy,
God gave us not a spirit of fear, but of power,
(10:59):
love and self control. William Tyndale translated the Bible into
English and was strangled and burned in fifteen thirty six.
His last words, Lord opened the King of England's eyes.
Today we all read the Bible in English because of
his steel spine. So we have to be strong. The
(11:21):
supremacy of Christ and the hope of resurrection is still here.
Our hope is not in politics, movements or leaders. It
is in Christ, crucified and risen. Death could not hold Jesus,
and it will not hold Charlie. When Polycarp, an elderly
pastor in the Early Church, was threatened with burning if
(11:42):
he would deny Christ, he replied, eighty and six years
I have served him and he never did me any wrong.
How then can I blasphem me my King who saved me.
He died joyfully knowing resurrection awaited him. For those in Christ.
To live is Christ to die is gain at is
(12:02):
Philippians one twenty one. So let me leave you with
a closing challenge, just like the name of Charlie's ministry.
Let's make this a turning point. We cannot go back
to casual faith. And some questions I want us to
think about today is will we be silent or will
we speak the truth? Will we live for comfort or
(12:25):
will we live for Christ? I want to call us
to courage, to prayer for Charlie's family, and to recommitment
to following Christ boldly. Charlie Kirk was one of us. Okay,
he was just a thirty one year old man who
was gifted to speak the truth. Now again, maybe not
(12:46):
exactly like everybody thought was appropriate, But most importantly, he
belonged to Christ. And because of that, though the world
hated him, though they took his life, his story is
not over. The gospel he preached lives on the Christ
he followed reigns forever. And now the question is, well,
(13:08):
we have warm hearts, sharp spines, sharp minds, and still
spines for such a time as this. Let me repeat
that again, warm hearts, sharp minds, and steel spines. We
have to be caring, we have to be alert, and
we have to be strong for a time such as this.
(13:30):
And I'm going to take you back thousands of years
to the disciples after Jesus died. Okay. They had to
feel the way many are feeling today. They had to
feel very, very hopeless. They had to believe that their answer,
their king, the person that they had put their hope in,
(13:51):
was killed. They had to believe that it was over
and it was just beginning. Okay. I want us to
remember that nothing has changed for us spiritually. I understand
we have lost a very influential man, but we still
have Jesus. We still have the power of the Cross,
(14:12):
and we still have his strength to carry us through
a time such as this. So please bow with me
this morning to Heavenly Father. This is a very important
time in our country, and Father, I want to say
that I am grieved not only because of the loss
of Charlie, but because of the loss of the Democratic
(14:32):
lawmakers in Minnesota, because of the school shootings, because of
just the violence that is occurring in our country. And
I am not excusing anyone. I understand that this vitriol
comes from both sides, and that this the language and
the divisiveness comes from both sides. I am not here
(14:52):
today to judge anyone in any way. I am simply
here to say there has to be a better way. So, Father,
we ask you, just like during nine to eleven when
you brought so many back to you and for a
moment our world experience, our country in particular, experienced unity
(15:14):
of purpose and unity together, help that same thing to
happen now. Help this to be a turning point where
we come back to you. We love you, Father, we
thank you, and we pray for Erica and the kids
as they go through this very very difficult time in
losing their husband and their father. In Jesus' name, A men,
(15:39):
and I want to thank you all so much for
being here for this very important edition of the ninety
four X Kingdom Driven CEO
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