Reverend Franklin Graham, CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, recently urged Christians to get more involved in politics, emphasizing that believers are the only hope for a country increasingly influenced by Secularists who "deny Jesus ever existed."
"Christians must get involved in politics," Graham said while speaking at the two-day Oklahoma State Evangelism Conference in Oklahoma City. "[The] gays and lesbians are in politics [and] all the anti-God people are."
He added, "I'm here to tell you, church, God loves each and every one, and Christ died for our sins, and we've got a responsibility to take this message to the ends of the Earth. And I want to encourage you to take a stand in your communities. Get involved in government."
Rev. Graham, who is also the President of humanitarian organization Samaritan's Purse, asserted that nowadays, students in public schools are prevented from praying in public, passing out religious literature, and barred from forming Christian clubs.
"Our country has changed. And we've got to take a stand," Graham said. "We live in a secular society led by people that call themselves progressives. Secularists ... have taken control of our country. And we have just sat back and its happened. And we haven't even realized it's happened."
"It's all over the country," the 62 year old evangelist added. "You have the secularists and the humanists who are wanting to deny that Jesus ever existed."
Graham further explained that "there are storms that are coming" and he doesn't trust any politician to help save society from secularism. Rather, he emphasizes, that duty falls on the followers of Christ.
"America has changed and it's not coming back unless the church takes a stand. ... Now I'm not talking about Baptists or Republicans or Tea Party. I have no confidence that any of these politicians or any party is going to turn this country around," Graham explained. "The only hope for this country is for men and women of God to stand up and take a stand.
Graham's plea for evangelical Christians to join in the political process concluded with a Gospel presentation and an invitation to make Jesus Christ the Lord of the new Christian's life.
"There is only one who can save. Only one, Jesus," Graham added. "You see, Jesus is in the boat. All we have to do is call Him, call on His name."
The evangelist's comments come just after his return from Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma/Myramar, which he visited along with relief organization Samaritan's Purse.
"It's, it's, it's terrible," Graham said of the situation in those regions. "There is so much suffering in the world...We need to pray for that area of the world .... Pray that some young people would say, 'Lord, take me and send me to these places so I can be your light in a dark world.'
"Pray that God would send people to work in this area of human migration," Graham said. "It's a real problem."
