A Powerful Voice From The Past

Ask God to give me the right words as I boldly explain God’s secret plan that the Good News is for the Gentiles, too (Ephesians 6:19, NLT).

Dear friends:

Some of you may remember the late Dr. Charles Malik, Ambassador to the United Nations from Lebanon and President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1959.

Dr. Malik was a very dear friend for approximately 25 years, until his death. With an earned doctorate from Harvard University, and with over 50 honorary doctorates from many of the most prestigious universities of the world, Dr. Malik was truly one of the great intellectual and spiritual giants of our century.

It was my privilege to hear him speak to a group of world leaders in Washington, D.C. I was deeply touched by his strong witness for the Lord Jesus when he said, “The deeper need of the world,” he said, “belongs to the sphere of the mind, heart and spirit, a spirit to be penetrated with the light and grace of Jesus Christ.”

He went on to say, “I really do not know what will remain of civilization and history if the accumulated influence of Jesus Christ, both direct and indirect, is eradicated from literature, art, practical dealings, moral standards, and creativeness in the different activities of mind and spirit.” Then he concluded with this profound statement: “The heart of the whole matter,” he said, “is faith in Jesus Christ.”

Following his address, I approached him to say, “Many political leaders speak of God, the Bible, prayer in a general way, but I have never heard one in your position of worldwide leadership who has spoken so powerfully and so convincingly of your faith in and your love for Jesus Christ.”

His response moved me deeply. “I am sobered by the words of our Lord,” he said, “‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.'”

Today, America needs such leaders and influencers with the conviction and boldness of Dr. Malik to unashamedly speak of our Lord Jesus Christ, who did not claim to be “a way,” but “the way.” We must show love to those involved with false religions, but remember that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, NIV).

Yours for helping to fulfill the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns,

Bill Bright

About the Author
The late Dr. Bill Bright was Founder and President/Chairman Emeritus of Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization which began as a campus ministry in 1951 and now has more than 27,000 full-time staff and up to 500,000 trained volunteer staff in 196 countries in areas representing 99.6 percent of the world’s population. In the past 50 years, Campus Crusade for Christ has seen approximately 6 billion exposures to the gospel worldwide. The film, “JESUS,” which Bright conceived and funded through Campus Crusade for Christ, is the most widely translated and viewed film of any type ever produced. Since its use began in 1980, the film has been translated into 839 languages and viewed or listened to by over 5.7 billion people in 228 countries. Dr. Bright was also the author of more than fifty books. Dr. Bright recently co-founded Global Pastors Network to “Touch, Teach and Train” a group of 5 million new house churches around the world 24/7/365 at http://www.globalpastorsnetwork.org.

Copyright (c) 2003, Bill Bright. All rights reserved. Used with permission

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