57. The Nashville Shooting And Christian Warfare

Welcome back to the broadcast where we prod the sheep and beat the wolf. This is episode 57 the

Nashville shooting and Christian warfare Dear Christian as I write to you this day

My heart is filled with tremendous grief and sadness over the events that have transpired in the

Nashville shooting on Monday morning a mentally ill biological woman who identified as a transgender male

Shot her way inside of the Covenant school, which is a Presbyterian school in East, Tennessee Firing indiscriminate rounds at both helpless children and adults before being gunned down by local heroic police officers in 14 horrifying minutes six innocent people were brutally killed

Including three little ones aged nine and three adults in their 60s One of the children who tragically perished was the daughter of Chad Scruggs who serves as the lead pastor over Covenant Presbyterian Church the church that founded the school

During such awful instances of darkness we must remember that we are children of the light

We are living examples of Jesus Christ to all who are perishing How we respond to tragedies like this will say much

About how we think believe and cherish the gospel as we pray for the victims

Let us also pray for the victimizers As we pray for the affected families, let us also diligently remember to pray for the shooters family and As we are bombarded

By all sorts of opinions on this subject Let us be slow to speak quick to listen wise

Humble and ready to pattern our responses according to scripture With that I'd like for us to consider.

How is a Christian supposed to respond to such awful tragedies? Number one this memes war

Whether you like it or not, you will be inundated in the coming days with a cacophony of hot takes from trolls on Twitter rants by activists and Bobblehead personalities on biased news coverage

There's gonna be shots fired from both sides of the left right culture war

You're also gonna see this situation entirely weaponized by gun control activists you're gonna see the news and and Many people trying to play up the perpetrators victim status

You're gonna see the trans community crying out for justice and for days of vengeance and Saying things like if Christians weren't so bigoted this would have never happened

Yesterday today we even saw What should have been an empathetic president consoling a wounded nation instead.

We saw a depraved doddering dolt Making inappropriate jokes before a press conference about what flavor of ice cream.

He's Stacking in his fridge before blaming Republicans for this incident of gun violence and Sadly, this was not the only occasion that our dunderhead and chief quipped sardonically about when doing so was both vile and inappropriate

Perhaps you also saw the despicable and insensitive meme That was posted by Arizona Press Secretary Jocelyn Barry Depicting a woman holding two handguns in a threatening pose

Captioned by the words us when we see transphobes Or maybe you saw any number of shameless responses on the interwebs as such as I've I've linked to in the blog

This means war from such a smattering of debased opinions

I believe it is obvious that we are in a war, but let me be unequivocally clear here

We are not in a left -right culture war that has captivated this nation for decades

We are not on the left. We are not on the right. We are on the side of Jesus Christ When the pundits politicians and the ideological left blame

Christians and gun laws for this attack we must not respond with the kind of equal and opposite fury that's displayed among activists on the right as Christians we must respond like Christians and Not like activists

We are citizens of heavens not paupers in this political war game We have been called to war

Yes And amen, but not that one the battle that you and I have been called into first and foremost is a war against the flesh

Romans 8 13 We are called by God To be killing that which is wicked and depraved in us

Mortifying it by the Spirit so that we may live as Christians We do not begin a plank guide campaign against a horde of sawdust

II centers without first Pointing the lens of biblical truth upon our own heart and our own soul and examining us

We must make war through repentance and not through hollow Pharisee ism

But now don't get me wrong. That doesn't mean that we have nothing to say I'm just saying that our war begins with us, but it doesn't end there

In fact, the Bible does call us to a kind of warfare with the world According to Scripture for the love of God and for the redemption of the planet

We are called to expose the damnable misdeeds of darkness Ephesians 5 5 through 13 We are to call out pagan philosophy such as transgenderism with the light of the gospel of Christ Colossians 2 8

Jude 3 We are to be salt which preserves the decaying world We are to be light in the midst of a crooked people which means exposing and change chasing away the darkness

Matthew 5 13 through 16 and Philippians 2 14 through 15 and If we do that work faithfully meeting mistruth with facts

Biblical facts and love Ephesians 4 15 then we fully understand that the world is still going to hate us because at first hated

Christ John 15 18 No matter how the world views us We labor on until every nation has been discipled according to the to Christ vision and the biblical standards

That he lays forth in Matthew Mark Luke and John and the whole rest of the

Bible because we know the whole Bible is all about him it's also a

Battle that is not fault primarily with with men and women of the world It's more importantly fault against the demonic

Principalities and against the satanic powers who wage war against the plain truth of God's Word Ephesians 6 12

We have to remember dear brother and sister that the transgender community is not our enemy

Likewise the LGBTQ LMNOP activists. They're not our foe

We do not wage our warfare against them but for them

We wage a spiritual war against spiritual opponents with unique non -violent weapons that will attack with the gospel of Jesus Christ and will take back

Dominion for our King in a world that is hopelessly lost and dead

Ephesians 6 13 through 17 The Christians warfare

Brings life and light to the world not death and hot takes Which brings us to a very apropos passage for a time such as this in Light of the events that occurred in Nashville and whenever the next grisly evil is unleashed upon this world

May the words of Romans 12 14 through 21 become our guide May it become our guide on how we respond to the world the flesh and the devil with uniquely and Poignantly Christian warfare.

This is our battle guide. Let me read from the passage Romans 12 14 through 21 says this bless those who persecute you bless and do not curse

Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep be of the same mind Toward one another and do not be haughty in mind

But associate with the lowly Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone respect

What is right in the sight of all men if possible so far as it depends on you be at peace with all men

Never take your own revenge beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God for it is written vengeance is mine

I will repay says the Lord But if your enemy is hungry feed him and if he's thirsty give him a drink and for in so doing

You will keep burning coals on his head Do not be overcome by evil

But overcome evil with good this is the Word of the Lord now in what follows

I want to discuss for Unique Christian weapons of warfare from this passage. The first one is we have to bless the ones who hate us in a world fomenting riotous hatred

Christians consistently must love and bless We pray for those who revive us and we are kind to those who malign us in our prayers

We drag the wicked and the depraved of the throne of grace in our prayers

Begging God to save them and to forgive them and to sanctify them in his love This does not mean sugar -coated placations, but it does mean that we speak the truth with a liberal dose of godly affection

Sometimes affection stings We also pray for the families who lost loved ones we bless them

We ask God to comfort them in their grief to be near while they are broken and to give them the exact right words that They need to say whenever they're called upon to speak words that are gonna glorify

Christ words that offer Hope words that are saturated with the same forgiveness that God has provided us in Christ Jesus our

Lord We pray that the Lord will meet them in their hurt meet them in their brokenness and give them the exact right words to say when they speak our first act of warfare is

Not to grab the picket signs or the pitchforks and join in the lynchings We are not people who advocate for our rights or hurl stones that are ideological opponents because We know if it were not for the grace of God then there too would go

I Instead we strive to live like Jesus We pray for those who are lost in gender confusion and for those who are consumed with religious republicanism

We don't curse the left We don't chest bump the right Instead we plead with God to save everyone who does not have

Jesus whether they be conservative or liberals Republicans or Democrats We apply a heaping dose of love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness tenderness gentleness and self -control

To every situation and to everyone we meet that is our warfare

That's number one the second weapon that we must employ in times such as these is we need to weep with those who weep in Our quest to fight evil with gospel blessing.

Let us not forget that the second weapon of our warfare instead of guns swords or nuclear warheads is

Tears We need to remember both the power and the potency of the salty tears shed by Gospel saints scripture implores us to remember this because we are so prone to forget it why

I Think because scar tissue is what often becomes the toughest The war -torn heart tends to turn from tenderness to toughness for self -protection

Over time when you've faced enough adversity and enough pain and enough wickedness the natural proclivity of the heart of your heart is to stiffen to harden and To reject the kind of tenderness that would leave you exhausted

While everything within your weary wounded soul is going to work towards a kind of cardiac ankylosis

Which just means stiffening you must labor for renewed compassion affection and empathy

Every single day we're gonna be confronted with situations to weep over We're gonna encounter human beings especially among the people of God who have the kind of scars that are worth weeping and wailing over Instead of protecting ourself and growing tough and self -sufficient and emotionally aloof or distant may the

Lord allow us and allow situations like these To unclog our tear ducts and To remind us to be soft and tender and weak and to mourn with those who mourn remember

When we are weak Christ shows himself as strong When our cheeks are soaked with tears we reminded that he is near to the broken -heart at Psalm 34 18 and We were reminded that he will soon wipe away every tear from our eye and take away every curse and every pain

Revelation 21 for This world that we are living in is going to fall in battle

Because the Saints went blessing and weeping Do not neglect your warfare dear

Saint, that's number two Number three, we have to leave the vengeance to God.

That is an important and a Powerful weapon in the hands of the believer. We must leave the vengeance to God in A world where Christian schools are being attacked with assault rifles and believers are being arrested by the

DOJ for praying outside of Planned Parenthood Churches are being set on fire for opposition of Roe v.

Wade. We are going to need to understand how to fight back as believers When we fight back, we do not take up arms

We don't rally crowds to execute violence or repay evil with evil instead.

We wage war through forgiveness and We leave the vengeance to God Unlike Radical trans activist network who is organizing a day of vengeance in Washington, DC Even after this event happened, they're still waging a day of vengeance

Christians don't act like that. We release our right to vengeance in this life and we trust that God is a far better judge than we are

We understand that these situations are unquestionably evil. We're not ignorant of that We know that justice must be executed and we yearn for that but as Christians, we also realize that anything that we could do in our flesh

Would pale in comparison to what an infinite and holy God armed with an eternal hell

Can do to those who spurn his grace and pulverize his Saints?

By forfeiting our right to the wrath the hatred the feelings of unforgiveness the retribution and the vengeance the violence and the justice we are

Deliberately trusting that God will execute the wicked more powerfully more flawlessly and more righteously than we could ever dare dream as We bless those who hate us and as we moan with those who wail

Let us remember to allow God to execute the vengeance while the victims of such violence and while even us who are watching from the sidelines will

Undoubtedly experience tremendous pain and feelings of hatred anger and all manner of emotion will be inflamed from intent from attacks like these

Christians do not fight back with the weapons of the world. We don't Instead we take up the shield of faith

We don the breastplate of righteousness We wield the sword of truth

We put on the helmet of our salvation and we shot our feet with the gospel shoes that guide us back into the world

Back into the warfare again and again and again We're not gluttons for punishment

We combat evil with gospel good, which is the last weapon that we're gonna speak about number four

We must overcome evil with good Paul ends this incredible section by saying do not be overcome by evil

But overcome it with good. We are most definitely in a war dear

Christian and That war will not be won on Twitter Redditor discord. That war will not even be won through leftist activism or conservative podcasting

This war will not be won by becoming a card -carrying member of the NRA or joining your local gun club

By voting for the most conservative candidate or by harboring hatred in your heart for the sinners who executed such egregious and sinful atrocities what we saw in Nashville, Tennessee is pure unadulterated evil and Because of this we will recoil when we are told by Scripture to bless and pray for monsters like that But let us however remember what

Paul has told us That we must not only pray good and godly things for those who are his

We must not only pray and precatory prayers of judgment upon those who are not

But let us also remember in the in the gamut of our prayer life

That We ought to pray that God would forgive and save and bless the ones who hurt us

The ones who hunt us down the ones who hate us and the ones who homicide us

That is Christian warfare With 175 children dead from Columbine to Nashville It would be easy for us to say

Enough is enough it'd be easy for a hardness of heart to set in for a numbness or apathy to take over and For us to put away tender hearts that are prone to wail instead dear brothers and sisters

Let us remember the words of the Apostle Paul and let us weep For all the children who attended the

Covenant School Who now have one less classmate for the pastor who lost his beloved daughter?

For husbands and wives who lost their spouses for mothers and fathers who lost their children and for the church who lost their members

Let us weep righteous alligator tears for that dear brother and sister is our warfare

Remember that while the world is ever eager to leap into the cacophony of another culture battle

We must remember that God is the one who will take vengeance our job is not to repay evil with evil our job is not

To execute violence with violence instead we are called to overcome that evil with good

All the villainy and the tyranny that is being perpetrated by the raging nations during this time will be conquered and Will be put down Not by activism

Not by weapons But by Christ like godly joyful Christians living out the gospel overcoming evil with good as Christians we follow the

Lord Jesus Christ who gave us this example who for the joy Set before him endured the most wanton and senseless of violence that have ever been perpetrated in order to bring about the most tremendous peace that could ever be given as Soldiers of the

Living Christ Let us shine as lights in this dark and decaying world

Let us declare the gospel to the lost Let us raise up godly children and increase our numbers

Let us pray for the Spirit of God to bring revival to this dead land. Let us not participate in the sinful battle tactics of the raging world, but instead

Let us bless those who hate us Let us weep with those who weep Let us trust the vengeance of God and let's overcome evil by doing good.

This is our warfare This is our battle guide now fight on Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of the broadcast

I do ask that you would pray For everyone who was involved in this tragedy pray for the mom and dad of the shooter as well

I can only imagine the hurt and the sadness that is going on in their life as well pray for everyone who lost a loved one in this and Dear Christian just be a

Christian this week Showcase the love of Christ in the way that you respond and everything that you do and Christ will get the glory and he will

Overcome the world he already has through his cross and he will continue to do so with you

Living out the gospel not repaying evil with evil. I pray that you were blessed this week dear one.