The Life and Legacy of Pat Robertson | News on the 700 Club - June 8, 2023

Well, welcome to the 700 Club. My father Pat Robertson, the founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network operation, blessed the American Center for Law and Justice at Regent University. He passed away this morning at 4 49 am. m. My sister Ann and her husband Gary were with him at the bedside. The family has been getting together all this week. My other sister, Elizabeth, came from Dallas. My children were there. Their children. His grandchildren were around him this week and, listening to him, he wanted to give us final blessings. He wanted to tell us how much he loved us. Yesterday his granddaughters Abby and Laura were reading Psalms about him and it reminded me of what his Aunt Josephine did when he was still a baby that he would read Psalms about him in his crib and he remembered that it went on for years and those Psalms became profound. inside his soul, so it was a great tribute to him for God to inspire his granddaughters to come and say the same thing and do the same thing that his aunt did all those years ago in his crib.

He left my sisters and granddaughters a message that I want to share for you and I think it is for everyone who is part of the CBN family, all the viewers, all those who he wanted to love and he wanted to preach the gospel. Here I tried to listen to the Lord. I loved them all. I walked with the Lord. I hope I have conveyed that to you and my hope is that I have. They would receive. That they would have their own walk with the Lord. They would hear his voice. They would let him guide them because I.

I can assure you that when you listen to the voice of the Lord and obey it you will have a wonderful

life

, well Gordon, I know I speak for all of us who are family, excuse me, I am family and I want to say, we feel you. We are lost, we feel a past loss, but what a day in heaven, can you imagine? I mean, I feel like I want to play that song right now. I can only imagine it because I know it was glorious, but my father, my father, the chariots and the horsemen. from Israel, yes, that was talked about him last night, his steadfastness was simply remarkable and speaking of the 62 of Pat's 93 years he spent hosting live television, I'm sure that's the record Pat made on October 1st 1961 at three o'clock on a Sunday afternoon. his first appearance on television and since that initial broadcast in Portsmouth, Virginia, the gospel has reached the ends of the earth.

Here's a look at the

life

of Pat Robertson and his amazing

legacy

. CBN, Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson launched his first television station in 1961. It was a time of growing prosperity in America an era of hopes and dreams and conquering New Frontiers The young Christian broadcaster also had Big Dreams of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the entire world at that time seemed like an Impossible Dream, the signal from his little television station barely going around the block and a word from God to claim a television station for his glory, something that seemed impossible in those days.

Pat's trust was in the Lord and he was not disappointed over the years. CBN grew into the global ministry he had. I imagined in those early days a Ministry that has been used by God to change lives and answer prayers resurrected from the ashes tremendous testimony that we will have an exclusive effect today. I'm sure if Pat were here today he would give such a testimony to what God did here Stephen, he would take credit if he said he was God and is God, but God uses men. God used Pat. He escorted the Baby Boomers home.

He was a very, very good friend. He followed God fully throughout his life. life Marion Gordon Robertson was affectionately called Pat, the nickname stuck when her older brother Willis often touched her cheek and imitated instructions Pat Pat Pat he was part of what history has labeled the silent generation Martin Luther King Robert and Ted Kennedy Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Jesse Jackson and Chuck Olson were born into the silent generation, although their voices were anything but silent. This generation never had one of their own elected to the presidency of the United States, although several ran, including Pat Robertson in 1988.

Thank you God bless you. I entered the race as a champion of conservative values, I entered the race to be able to speak out about the big moral issues facing our nation, and I entered the race to win. I didn't win when you think about Pat Robertson. I think one of the main lessons you learned is that if you have a dream, go after it, even if you don't achieve it, go after the presidency. Against all odds, for the first time, the world had to take the church seriously in a way that we had never seen here before. relegated to the stained glass windows under the bad abuse and stay in your little corner and don't go any further, he broke the stained glass window, he broke the glass ceiling and he committed to the process and from that moment on I believe that people of faith were taken seriously beyond the church house to the White House.

Political influence grew enormously after his candidacy for president through this chance meeting with Ralph Reed and the formation of the Christian coalition. Over the next decade, the Christian Coalition grew to become one of the most powerful lobby groups in the country, perhaps its greatest achievement was the successful appointment of a conservative majority to the U.S. Supreme Court, whether in politics or world events, he was always involved in these various areas and in terms of what God was doing and how Christians should pray and how Christians could get involved. I loved it Pat Robertson grew up in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, raised in Lexington, Virginia, the second son of US Senator Willis Robertson and Gladys Churchill Robertson.

A mix of ministers, lawyers and politicians marked Robertson's ancestry, including two United States presidents and a signer of the Declaration of Independence James Robertson, an Anglican priest, landed in Virginia in 1695. Pat's father served 34 years in the United States Congress, her mother, a kind Southern lady, was an asset to her husband's long political career and I used to laugh that first I learned Mom, then I learned Dad, then I learned constituents, we were always aware of what he would think the public and that was a good thing. Pat's spiritual formation began at his home in Lexington, where he had the benefit of a loving home in a rock-solid community with his family.

He attended the manly Memorial Baptist Church during his teenage years. Pat remembers church more as a social outing. It was at the beginning of World War II that his mother's born-again experience transformed his life. She retired. From this social scene that had been an important part of his life, she studied the Scriptures and learned about Jesus for herself. The desire of his heart was that his two sons would know the Lord. Her fervent prayers followed Pat to college in 1946, when she enrolled at Washington and Lee University in her hometown of Lexington, she was praying for me and I couldn't get away from her prayers.

I was a party boy. I was at the University. She was drinking and running and you know she was very. lenient, but you know it was one of those things they give a mother who prays a lot for her, but only later did I begin to realize the depth of her faith and how important it was when President Truman reinstated the draft in 1948. Having enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, he was allowed to finish college in Washington and Lee while spending summers in Marine Corps officer training in 1950. Pat graduated magna laude with a degree in history and earned membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society after graduating. he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps that summer Soviet-backed North Korea invaded the South the United States Rose in defense the war postponed Pat's plan to enroll in Yale Law School he served as an assistant aide in The 1st Marine Division at a forward command post just north of the 38th parallel, received three Battle Stars for its service in the Korean War, ending the war.

Pat headed off to law school at Yale, while there he met a young woman named Dede Elmer who was earning her master's degree. A nursing graduate, Pat's late wife Dede recalled their eventful first meeting, well, it's an exciting story. She came to an open house that the nursing students were having and I was trying to escape from someone else and told her I had to work on the snacks. table and I went down there, I couldn't do anything so I tried to look busy and my hair caught on fire and Pat jumped up and put it out with her bare hands.

In fact, she fell in love. They married at the end of Pat's sophomore year. in law school and somehow the fire he put out in my hair touched my heart and never left 1956 New York, the business capital of the world Pat DeDe and her young son Tim lived on Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of the city. entrepreneur at heart Pat co-founded and co-owned a company with Yale classmates it was also a presidential election year Pat shared Staten Island Democratic caucus to elect allies Stevenson for president I don't like Texas I doubt anyone likes Democrats They lost that year, and although Pat's business prospered, he began to feel a void in his life, that's when the futility began to come upon you: you know all these parties and all the things you're doing and what life is about , and so it is.

When I had a real crisis wondering who I am and what I'm doing here, then he just reflected a little bit on his life, on his heavy drinking and his partying, and while he was doing that, he started reading his Bible and, uh, like As a result of that he decided that he wanted to be a minister and the senator agreed with that when he came home and talked to his mother and his mother told him that he needed to convert first and that he needed to find Christ instead of just finding. A job Pat's mother brought him into contact with Cornelius Vanderbragen, a missionary and former Marine Corps lieutenant, led Pat to Christ over dinner at a Philadelphia restaurant.

Pat's life was transformed, he felt compelled to serve the Lord and soon gave up his part in the startup. venture to enroll in the New York Seminary Dede he remembered that moment, well, I knew he had had a real experience and it was difficult for me because he was trying to claim that he was a Christian. He had always been in church and just felt like he was a Christian. Pat's faith as a Christian grew while he was in seminary, he developed a strong prayer life, studied the scriptures, and practiced the gifts of the Holy Spirit while Dede struggled inside.

Well, Pat just knew he was going to heaven, he knew Jesus and he could talk to him. He and I just hoped to get there until today. I marvel at Pat because he put up with me when I was smoking and when I was trying to convince him that I was just a Buddhist Christian like him and, you know, he put up with me and he never scolded me for it and uh, he saved me at the Word of Life camp in Upper New York and it was a wonderful, wonderful experience. After Pat graduated from Seminary, he moved DD and his growing family to Bedford Stuyvesant in New York and began an Inner City Mission along the way the Lord showed me to take the Prince's Skyways of the power of the air and give them to the Prince of Peace and I didn't know for sure what it was but there was this television station here that I had heard about and the Lord said, you know, go do it, so take your family from Brooklyn and go to the place I call in 1960 with little more than a Clear Vision of God and a burning desire to tell others about Christ Pat purchased a defunct UHF television station in Portsmouth Virginia incredibly the founder and president of the Christian Broadcasting Network nor The engineer we had working for didn't even have a CBN the Christian Broadcasting Network television.

We didn't think we could do it, so he didn't have the transmitter ready. You know, you can't necessarily leave your fate in the hands of the engineers, but anyone but him finally hooked it up with a bilge cable and got it going. maybe three or four in the afternoon and we put our first broadcast on the air, we could barely make it around the block, I mean it was a big deal, we didn't have a monitor, so I would run down the street where I had a TV with a snowy picture and I turned it on to say let me watch channel 27 and they turned it on and said oh we're on the air so I ran back to the studio. wyah TV was the first station. to be granted an FCC license to broadcast more than 50 percent of the religious programming that Pat directed, produced and hosted shows in those early years.

I don't know if I was tenacious or if I didn't have better common sense or trust in God, but I felt this. It's what he wanted me to do behind the scenes, prayer and family were the pillars of Pat's innovative ministry, which is one of my most vivid memories of my father every morning sitting on his couch with his Bible open, sometimes on your knees with your head. I bowed in prayer. You know, I remember dad always interacting with us. He may have had the longest day. Maybe he had so many hairs on his face.shoulders, but when he got home he would run outside and play hide-and-seek with us.

She loved my children. I think I was approachable and I played with them and I prayed with them, but you know, I took to heart the 54th chapter of Isaiah that says your children will be counted of the Lord and I really gave them to the Lord and it wasn't very the stern father that I've tried to present before, I am an example of what they should do and how they should live and then I loved them off camera. Dede created a loving home for the Robertson family and that's what dad has needed at his side all these years is a firm companion mom's dad's prayer partner they prayed together about things and they agreed in prayer about things My wife was I was a good mother and she went out with the kids oh, we had picnics and we traveled, we took them everywhere with the back seat of the car and I traveled, but it was fun.

Suddenly, during the 1970s, a spiritual renewal broke out. The dominant culture was a movement that had been gaining momentum for 20 years. The emergence of the charismatic renewal was an astonishing explosion throughout the body of Christ. The revival gave rise to a series of groundbreaking things, especially as it affected Pat Christian on television and he was of course, one of the most important cameras of that, in fact, I think he made the most effective use of it, from my point of view, They hated God and Jesus, they did, yes, and the Bible was a forbidden book, how did you get that copy of the copy?

Entering the concentration camp was a miracle. CBN captured the spiritual energy of the charismatic movement through its flagship program, the 700 Club, which Pat hosted. The show aired daily in homes on CBN's expanding network. Thank you, oh we have a wonderful audience. and a wonderful long-time co-host of the show, the late Ben Kenslow, remembered Pat's humility amid the powerful platform the show created. Kids, it never made any sense here at the 700 Club, uh Pat acting or letting us act or any of us feeling like we were quoting someone. special, we had the privilege of being a part of what God was doing and I could stand next to Pat Robertson and raise his hand and pray with him and cry with him and laugh with him and see God do amazing things for people Underpants Leadership CBN produced a wide range of Christian programming such as Harold Bradison's Charisma, a program that helped reestablish Christianity in popular culture.

Interviews with international leaders such as Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menachem of Israel, vegan and later governor and presidential candidate Jimmy Carter paved the way for

news

programming with a Christian perspective CBN was one of the first broadcasters to use satellite distribution technology in the Spring 1977. CBN broadcast a live television signal via satellite to the entire world from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, suddenly the vision emerged that reaching the world with the gospel was a real possibility along with religious programs. CBN cable broadcast entertainment for the entire family. The network later became Family Channel when CBN's Family Channel was sold in 1997.

It was viewed by nearly 50 million households in the fall of 1979. CBN dedicated a new studio headquarters building in Virginia Beach to Virginia Billy Graham was the keynote speaker Jesus Christ All Nations then the end will come for the first time in the history of the church it is now possible to preach the gospel to the whole world God bless Pat Robertson his wife, his staff and the ministry of CBN and the Club 700 have always included an interactive component that offers viewers the opportunity to call in for salvation or prayer asking for help for people to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, it was always Pat's main focus if you are a viewer.

You remember Pat as the guy who was sitting in front of the camera and told you how you could know Jesus Christ personally and join us in prayer and if you don't know Jesus Christ you can know Him today as your personal savior, thank you Pat. Life's passion was to tell people about Christ and lead them in the sinner's prayer, thank you Jesus who saves my soul and I will live for you and serve you in the name of Jesus, thank you Lord my father, I believe he said who walked the road. Baby Boomers share the home.

They share the faith. Concepts that provide principles and not just his own, but also created a platform for others to lean on and listen to his views, even if his views were different from mine, if it was broad enough in his ability to engage to others. who fought differently and sometimes learned from them and sometimes challenged them and I was one of those who invited me to talk about the person of the Samaritan asked me questions about what we were doing. I was very grateful that he cared about me as a young preacher. encourage me and encourage the ministry that God had given me bicycles Samaritan person he simply did that for hundreds of organizations he was not selfish he wanted to exalt the work of the Lord and he did it in a wonderful way 1983 was The more we read the good book, can we make a resolution here today that 1984 will be the year we put its great truths into practice as the 700 Club evolved as a platform for Christian truth?

More emphasis was placed on reporting

news

on world events and Analysis CBN News was born from the programming change. Providing news from a Christian perspective was something that had never been done and still is never done the way it was done. His commitment beyond the CBN world in the nrb showed a willingness to share his concepts. Further as Christians and as we come, international Bible teacher and fellow broadcaster K Arthur served with Pat on the board of directors of the national religious broadcasters, but you know what I loved about him. I never saw him retire. I saw him apologize if he thought he was wrong, but I never saw him retreat or leave the battlefield and I admired that Pat was always an anchor point to keep the word, the spirit and manifest in a real character, as we know that there have been Ups and downs in Christian television, but Pat has remained very focused. remained focused on the gospel and used this ministry to promote the Lord Jesus Christ in 1989 CBN embarked on the boldest initiative in the history of Christian television the wall fell in Berlin and the East opened perestroika emerged in the Soviet Union now there was A Whole New Audience for the Gospel Message Pat never missed a beat when he began developing programming for countries behind the collapse of the Iron Curtain after CBN's success in the former Soviet Union.

Pat began drawing up plans for an even greater push into regions previously closed to the gospel message throughout the 1990s. CBN International took on more and more challenges during this time. Pat's close friend Bill Bright was a great source of encouragement. Their friendship had been forged in 1980 after Pastor John Gemines united evangelical and charismatic leaders during Washington for Jesus before that prayer event on the National Mall in D.C. The evangelical and charismatic Christians did not work closely because he was friends with the The late Bill Bright changed that we are here to pray, we are here to confess our sins as the New Dawn of the Millennium.

Both leaders were focused on bringing the gospel to unreached people groups. CBN facilities reaching billions every day. There is no one else who can say with credibility and authenticity that we are going to reach 500 million. You and your great team, Pat, have won. the respect and admiration of the multitudes of believers CBN International began to create programming with indigenous hosts. Its success was a great source of joy and sometimes frustration. Frankly, it is difficult because many neighbors think that we are a single television program and when they start to watch everything what we're doing, you know, 90 of the work we do is done overseas.

This book. Pat's

legacy

. Hosting a live television show is practically unmatched. More than six decades with a balanced budget. Nice to see you. Pat. A great pleasure. Pessimistic. I am an opera. and if you're on TV every day, every day, for every week of your life, you're going to say something from time to time, they did the accident and they jumped on things with cameras, but that's the risk that everyone we assume. being in front and being a Trailblazer you're going to get shot Pat Robertson was a Trailblazer and Trailblazers get hit he was strong enough to take a hit and get back up and open the show the next day and that's a rare individual breed Pat He hosted the same Daily Show for more years than any other figure in history while raising funds to preach the gospel.

Those who work alongside him, like former co-host Sheila Walsh, respected Pat's authentic life. Let's pray right now as a father and father in the shadow of a doubt about her was that he was doing what he was doing for an audience of one person and I think there were many times when it was very difficult, there are times when what you're sharing and what you feel strongly about is not popular and there can be a lot of criticism and I think if you were doing it just to build a platform for yourself or to leave a platform for your family, it would be very easy to get discouraged and want to move on, but yes Be as deep as the marrow of your box that the god of Heaven and Earth has called you for this time and for the season, then you show up every day faithfully and do what he has called you to do and that is something so I never lost.

A second is my tremendous respect for Pat for the years he spent studying his knowledge of God's word or the amount of time he knew he spent on his knees praying before coming to the studio. Pat had a calling and a gift and anointing for that time and I have never seen anyone else have that brand of Pat Robertson, he is a founder and there are not many people who are called to start so many companies for the kingdom Jay Sekulow Senior Attorney for the American Center for Law and Justice believes that Pat Robertson's legacy is best reflected in the organizations he created and nurtured.

I would look at the people who founded our country. Pat had a similar vision at a different time. He would look at the entities that he formed and that God used to create. It's Christian Broadcasting Network, the operating blessing of aclj Regent University, I mean so many institutions, the Christian Coalition Pat always had a sense of the world in mind, he had a sense that Christianity just didn't belong in the confines of the church, but it was to permeate all of life and I think that's why God even led him to start Regent University. I bowed my head to say thank you and as he did so, God began to speak to me very clearly and said, I want you to buy all the land and build your headquarters. and then he said build a school for my glory, that's all.

Dr. David Gueyardson was a founding trustee and former president of Regent University. He believes prophetic vision was one of Pat's greatest strengths. Well, I think one of the things that Regent has is this wonderful heritage. That's part of Pat's legacy of thinking creatively outside the box moving into the future always asking the Lord what you are going to do next and how we can be a part of it. That has been Pat Robertson's legacy. Regent University opened its doors. in 1978 as CBN University only 70 communication arts students were enrolled in 1990 the name was changed to Regent today there are more than 31 thousand alumni the current student population of approximately 11,000 from 82 countries studies in 54 degree programs and I want to congratulate you graduates, you are wonderful, help yourselves, Businessweek magazine is called the American Center for Law and Justice, the leading group in defense of religious freedom, that is all I need, and you know that part of the life of Pat has been seeing a need and there wasn't one. sophisticated defense of Christians against groups like the ACLU and pro-American people, so basically what happened was that individuals who had, let's say, pro-life convictions were swept away by the courts and there was no organized opposition until it was created the American Center for Law and Justice. came on the scene and Pat saw that need and filled it and Pat was always concerned with finding the best way to help those in need and achieve the greatest impact, the greatest precedent possible.

Pat was always a voice of encouragement, I mean, when people say Who's the biggest cheerleader for the ACLJ has been Pat Robertson and there's no doubt about that. I mean, we had controversial cases and the press would beat us up. Pat was impeccable. I will never forget that we had a meeting with many of our superiors. The lawyers and everyone are worried about this particular case and the patches reach the waters, so that's the part you miss most in the summer of 1994. 35 years after Pat graduated from New York Seminary, he returned to Manhattan with Operation Blessing and began a Coast to Coast campaign - Coastal push to feed the hungry of America, we need you to pray because we need people to help in thiseffort across the country and, among other things, we need churches because what I want people to do is I want the church to be the leader of the community.

The compassion was real, it wasn't just tricking people into being interested in hearing the gospel by giving them things, it was care and love for people and of course that is a masterful testimony to the way Jesus is the heart of God when Pat began the operation. Blessing in 1978 after reading the scriptures in Isaiah about caring for the poor, those early efforts included meals for the hungry, blankets for the homeless, and groceries to feed families in crisis. In 1983, Operation Blessing was an organization nationally recognized charity, that is what is happening with CBN and the 700 blessing

club

operation has given almost two and a half million dollars to over 8,500 churches and this money is then matched by local churches the result has been fantastic we worked in God's faithfulness so it wasn't like we had this huge The reserve of resources we got was like God was guiding us step by step.

The need for staple foods like brown rice led to distribution projects in remote and suffering areas. We are terribly impressed by this project of yours and I think a lot of people I guess you know there are no more than 100 people in this country and that's not the case. Terry Museum, co-host of the 700 Club, first shared Operation Blessings hunger relief convoys three decades ago and I mean, to this day, tons of food every month. across the country for hungry families when disaster relief is needed. I mean, OB is the first one on the scene and the last one to leave and he's the one who was the catalyst for all of that, the one who said: do the work, thank you very much for everything.

You are doing it, oh bless your heart, you know it is my privilege and joy. I've been on medical mission trips and I've seen cleft palates repaired and hearts repaired and you know we've performed all kinds of eye surgeries for people who had lost their Vision so it was pretty amazing and your ministry has been pretty low profile in mind. of many people, but globally it has had a powerful impact. Would you like me to pray for you? Operation Blessing has impacted the lives of millions of people in more than 90 countries and territories. providing hunger relief clean water Health care and disaster relief had a tremendously compassionate heart for people in need, you know, yes, Pat was a voice in our culture for righteousness and a voice in politics for righteousness. righteousness too, I really think people often heard that. and he might not have known the tenderness of his heart, but he was a man who really saw the need and was moved by it and moved to do something to make a difference.

Pat also embraced the idea of ​​the orphan's promise that was born from Terry herself. The adoptive experience with her three daughters has given us and Pat has given everything we have been able to do, so God has allowed us to become another extended arm of CBM to expand the work being done not only for orphans but also for vulnerable children children who are affected by poverty or drug use in their family and for parents who are two affected by poverty to care for their children and would have put them in an orphanage, you know that scripture that Pat always quoted, that your people are willing to help. day of his power and yes, I mean, it was the response of all of us, be God, here we are, send us, use us, we are here, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, paid great honor to the station Christian.

Dr. Robinson has been a wonderful friend of Israel and has been a personal friend of mine. I felt like we had no greater friend in the world and I mean we have no greater friend in the world than Pat Robertson. Pat was a friend of Israel because he believed he was biblical afterward. A 1974 interview with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin Pat promised that he and CBN would always support Israel. Four decades of interviews with Israeli leaders forged bonds of friendship that Orthodox Jewish rabbi Daniel Lapin believes changed history and will be forever marked on the radar screen of History um I I think he will always be there as an imposing leader who was one one of the first to literally transform two thousand years of Jewish Christian relationships into something warm, close, compassionate, friendly and loving in a way that literally changed the story that Pat inspired.

He helped me enormously in forming the American Alliance of Jews and Christians and I realized that there were huge gaps that needed from his platform at the 700 Club to have informed television audiences about the challenges facing the Jewish State. We are here in the vashem courtyard, which is a place of great tomorrow and great meaning. I guess Israel's stance is no longer "no dog, no dog." I think the most important lesson that can be learned from the life of Pat Robertson is how a critical phrase from the Bible jumps to the life that Pat Robertson did. the phrase be strong and of good courage literally jumps from the pages of Deuteronomy and the pages of Joshua in ancient Jewish wisdom the phrase be strong and of good courage summarizes number one, knowing what to do and number two, having the courage to do it.

The greatest support in life came from the love and respect he earned from his wife Dede, his four children, and his grandchildren who have followed him in faith and service. I have tried to give them an example of what they should do and how they should live. and I loved them, we had a very close-knit family, Huggy Kissy type, you know, they were wonderful kids. My lingering memory of my father is every morning. He would wake me up and go to school. He would already be up and on his knees and praying and praying for direction praying for wisdom was always the cry of his heart for that and then one of his signature prayers God, I want to be part of your plan, not for plan, it's not what What I want to do, can I be part of your plan?

It was his prayer without a doubt the greatest gift that my dad gave to all of us children was this understanding that if you really want to know what to do with your life and where to go no matter what the circumstance is go to God and let the Holy Spirit Revealing it to you, you know, I think the only thing that stands out about Dad to me is how he is, he has taken God at his word, his faith, his faith is incredible, he believes that God will do what he says he will do and he never will.

He doubted it and that has been an inspiration to me my whole life and he trusts that God is going to do what he said he was going to do and I believe that he is willing to take risks that is why I was raised in a Divine home and they gave us. parameters and then we, you know, found our own path and they let us explore that path and I think they have encouraged all the things that as children we wanted to do and discouraged other things that we shouldn't be. Everyone sees my grandfather on TV every day looking so dapper in his tie and coat, but I'm one of the lucky people who gets to see him in one of his famous velvet sports suits that he loves so much.

I think my grandfather's greatest achievement is the family Christian legacy that he has given to all of us and I mean each of us, I mean, the children are very different, the grandchildren are very different, but the one thing that we all have in common is that we all have a real relationship with Jesus, I grew up in the office and saw him in the studio many times and I thought that was very normal. He played hopscotch over the camera wires every morning. He reads the Bible, whether on vacation or at home. I have to say that is my strongest memory of him.

He always encouraged me to continue pursuing knowledge and education, so I think that's a big part of shaping who I am. Why I chose to go to law school. Why I love academia. I love reading and I think he really shaped me in that area so I think growing up people always said you know what it's like to have Pat Robertson as your grandfather and I always said just you know he's just the grandfather. For us, he is grandfather. I just assumed he grew up. that everyone's grandpa was running for president and doing all those fun things abroad through his eyes.

I think that's something that he's really given us: a heart for God's people and all the people of the world and just exposing us to things that he would never have known otherwise. I think Grandpa's faith has inspired me to pray boldly and pray big, and just the times that he has prayed for us in our lives, I mean, he is a man of such faith and he lives it and believes that God gives us listen. and he answers our prayers and he has lived that and I think he really encouraged me to see that too.

He always encouraged me to be who he was and not be ashamed of it. He always encourages us to talk and study. and to really channel what God really wants for our lives, he always cares about my health and my sports and tries to keep me healthy and injury free and he always has tips to keep my elbows strong because I have been through a lot of injuries and he He prescribed many vitamins to keep my joints healthy and help me stay young. He was everything. He always had that presence in my mind. When he was a kid, you know, being a strong, healthy person.

I was always intrigued by that and, um, him. He was a source of knowledge for me in learning about it and Charlie looked and I had grown in a Ziploc bag instead of asking him to stop. I know he prays for his family and prays for the generations beyond him. And I think a lot of that may just be the faithfulness of the Lord, so nothing that He made is God and I think a lot of that also is just His focus on His children throughout their lives, which has allowed us have excellent parents. who loved the Lord and you know he wanted us to walk with the Lord in our lives courses that you've probably heard from the other grandchildren um the tradition is that we will do the Christmas story and he will quiz us on all the facts and that's It's been very exciting. and, of course, competitive.

He was, I don't know, 11 or 12 years old. I read a book that my grandfather wrote. I shouted from the top of the house. I remember thinking like I didn't know any of this had happened, the evidence of God there. Grandpa's life story and in my parents' life story and um I mean that's the backbone of my faith on the golf course with Margaret with a grandfather stays there you talk about the weather you talk about how much fun we had, how much fun we had together, but in terms of who shot what and who didn't, it just stays between the guys for me when I go back to the CBN campus and see the legacy that he has and what the Lord has made it through and And a lot of that is simply because my grandfather gave up and said, "Okay, what's next?" I think for me, just to understand that and the importance of letting go, I got baptized in the ocean in Virginia Beach, so my grandfather went in with my pastor. at that time and it was a really special moment to step into your old self and come out again as your new self, especially with your grandfather there by your side, the idea that he had the foresight to call it the Christian Broadcasting Network. when it's my grandmother turning on the camera and talking to almost no one, she still blows me away, so I said, no, grandpa, that doesn't seem like a very logical path for someone from Yale Law School.

I said what he did you take it and he said when the Lord tells you to go, you have to go, there will be young boys, young women who will see this and say, Lord, if it's yours, you will use me the way you use the way . yes I will use myself like you use Billy Grant and that is what I hope we can be for another generation, we can be a role model and without a doubt he was a role model and an inspiration not only for my generation but also for the younger generations. Of those coming after me, I would like to tell the Robertson family that only God can repay them for the sacrifices they have made and now the losses they share, but that God is just as capable of doing it as they are, too.

They are great servants to share such a patriarch with so many people in the world who desperately needed a father and a national thought leader and I simply thank God for his life and for his ministry and for this wonderful Network that continues and will continue and for years and years and years to come touching another generation with the power of the Gospel Pat Robertson was one of the most influential Christian figures of the 20th century in the evolution of Christian thought and in the spread of Christianity around the world, he and his organization that he built have had a powerful global influence in the history of Christianity and in the 20th and 21st centuries, that's a pretty good legacy.

Pat summed up his many accomplishments by boasting about the goodness of God. His message until the end was full of security and comfort for anyone who wanted it. follow in his footsteps serving humanity in the name of Jesus Christ what stands out above all is that God is faithful, he is absolutely faithful, he does absolutely what he says he can do, we can absolutely trust him. God is alive, he is present if one. What I could tell people is that you can trust in the Lord. I think more than anything it's that God is faithful, he does what he says he will do and that you carry that legacy that God is faithful.

If he saw that and you're wondering. How the hell could that happen to me? Let mecheer you up. It happened to my father with just three dollars back in 1960. God gave him a vision for Christian television, so he said, "Well, I'm going to need a vessel for this vision." and he went to the Virginia State Corporation Commission and applied for our nonprofit corporation called Christian Broadcasting Network Incorporated. At that time I didn't even own a television let alone a Christian station let alone a network, but I had a great vision and then with that Vision said, well, we're going to need a bank account, aren't we?

So he went to the local bank and said, Well, I have my certificate from the state Corporation Commission. He wanted to open a bank account and they said well, we will be happy to help you with that and then they filled out all the paperwork and then the bank manager looked at him very sweetly and asked him well, it is customary to open the account with an initial. deposit well, that didn't think that far ahead and then all he had was three dollars and he said well, I have three dollars, that's enough, well, the checks were six dollars was the answer and then he said, well, can I? having that on credit the bank manager said that was fine and that was the beginning of the Christian broadcast network, but the wisdom of choosing is better to own a Christian station than to own a television, we didn't have a television until 1963 and so on that we started in 1961 and the first time the family was able to see what Dad was doing was in 1963.

Choose wisely and choose that sentence. It is a wonderful prayer. Lord, make me part of your plan, not my plan. I want to be part of your plan. now for the grandparents for the parents here is a way you can claim a legacy for your children your grandchildren your great-grandchildren it is a verse that God gave me last week he pointed it out and underlined it in Isaiah 59. as for me says the Lord this It is my Covenant with them, my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouth of your descendants or from the mouth of your descendants, says the Lord from this time and forever declares that Covenant is for you, your children and your grandchildren.

Well, it's no secret that Regent University was the apple of Pat's eye as founder, chancellor, and CEO. Pat took Regent from humble beginnings to a world-class university with over 11,000 students and 150 areas of study Let's go back to 1978 and watch as Pat first announces his vision for a new University, on the day we've all recorded It has finally arrived and we see the hand of God and of each of you who have come to be students in a new University. We are here so that we can lead and explore together with enthusiastic and eager students and together we will learn that it will not be just academic, it will be spiritual, but it will not only be spiritual, it will be academic and it will be a mixture, we hope, of the highest spirituality and the richer scholarship, it will be necessary to have what one of the New England theologians called beaten oil, oil is not enough, it needs to be beaten oil and there will be anointing and there will be the flow of the Holy Spirit, but along with that there will be some work , there will be some understanding, we are going to push our intellectual capacities across an invisible line and, as we break those lines, there will be pain and not much.

Many people are willing to pay the price to cross that line, but the Champions do it. If we are to deal with things that do not perish, we are dealing with eternity and therefore we are going to give more than they do. We will give what secular scholars give what secular athletes give whatever it takes to do better we want to do better we feel that right now communications is the most important thing that is happening because this is the forefront of evangelization and the relationship of people, but at CBN University we are concerned about governments, we are concerned about educational processes, we feel that there are companies of great importance in our current world and other things that the Lord would give us, we do not want to be photocopiers. we want to be innovative because we are serving the one who is the source of all wisdom and all knowledge and that is the Lord God Himself, Christian leadership to change the world, the Mantra of Regent University and really it could be said of everyone we saw .

Your dad lives very well and what to label, well one of the things we pointed out in that video while we were talking while he was running is the cement blocks behind him, yes, that was a very important day, it was an unfinished building, but it was an important day because it was the first time that what was then CBN University and now Regent University moved out of the trailers. It started in double-wide trailers in Chesapeake, the days of small beginnings, because the Lord rejoices that the work has begun when you have that. attitude that even if you only have three dollars, how can God multiply?

He already saw how he has multiplied it, he will do it for you now. We close today's program with a wonderful word from Matthew that I spoke to my father last night hmm, well done, well and faithful servant enter into the joy of your lord God bless you see you tomorrow