Jay Sekulow Honors Pat Robertson's Religious Liberty Vision: 'So Big It Can Only Happen with God'

"Think of something so big, it can only happen with God." Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice believes that was one of the keys to Pat Robertson's life and legacy.

From humble beginnings, the ACLJ became a global force dedicated to protecting the rights of Christians everywhere.

More than three decades ago, Pat Robertson received a divinely inspired vision to establish a legal center to defend the rights of Christians.

"In city after city, county after county, state after state, we've been robbed of our religious rights and it's time to say no more," he insisted.

Attorney Jay Sekulow recalls the day Pat asked him to head up the American Center for Law and Justice. 

"I'll never forget our first meeting in Chesapeake, Virginia, at the Holiday Inn back in 1990. I think it may have been even '89," Sekulow recalled. "The idea was his, obviously inspired by the law to put together resources that would enable a legal organization like ours to flourish here in the United States and around the world. And he was always a source of great encouragement and wisdom. So, I can't say enough. This is a guy that is, was our mentor, our friend, and our colleague."

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As an educated lawyer, Pat Robertson followed various legal decisions and became an avid Supreme Court watcher. Sekulow explained Pat's excitement when he learned the court in effect, struck down Roe vs. Wade.

"He was thrilled to remember that the first case that Justice Alito cited in the opinion was the case that he was at the argument for, that I made at the Supreme Court of the United States in 1992 and '93. It was argued twice. I think, the recognition of that achievement of the overturning of Roe in that it's a case based on a case that the ACLJ litigated at the Supreme Court, I think was a tremendous source of pride for him and pride in the right way. That the vision that he had for this organization from the beginning has continued."

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Pat's commitment to religious rights expanded to a global scale when he started the European Center for Law and Justice. 

"I remember exactly where I was standing in 1997, in Strasbourg, France, where I went to look at office space for an organization," said Sekulow. "He viewed religious freedom as a God-given, inalienable right, not based just on a constitution or a declaration of universal rights, but as a God-given right. And that is what the motivating factor was."

Sekulow explained what Pat Robertson meant to him personally, beyond legal work and the ACLJ. 

"I learned from him the art of the possible. And I think that's what will stick with me through all of this. And don't limit what God is seeking to do and don't put it in a box. He used to use a quote from Winston Churchill and a couple of others saying, you know, 'you stood up for something,' and this was a Winston Churchill quote, 'and you got attacked for good.' It means you stood up for something. And it just was a tremendous source of encouragement," Sekulow said. 

"And I remember that statement in the dressing room at CBN. And it's, you know, 'Think of something so big that it can only happen with God,' and that is, that's his life, that's his legacy. And I think that's what he imparted to all of us."

Funeral Service to Celebrate the Life of Pat Robertson 

Please join CBN next Monday, June 19, as we honor and remember Pat Robertson with a memorial service. It will be streaming on the CBN Family App beginning at 12 p.m. Eastern.

***For more information on the life and ministry of Pat Robertson, please visit CBN.com/Pat. To watch his biblical teachings and learn about the God he loved and served, visit CBNfamily.com. In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to visit CBN.com/HonorPat to make a memorial gift.***