BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

DECEMBER Read Through the Bible Old Testament / New Testament Sat 1 Dan. 1-2 Sun 2 Ps. 133-136; Prov. 29:15-27 Mon 3 Dan. 3 / Rev. 3 Tue 4 Dan. 4 / Rev. 4 Wed 5 Dan. 5-6 / Rev. 5 Thu 6 Dan. 7-8 / Rev. 6 Fri 7 Dan. 9-10 / Rev. 7 Sat 8 Dan. 11-12 Sun 9 Ps. 137-139; Prov. 30:1-17 Mon 10 Hos. 1-4 / Rev. 8 Tue 11 Hos. 5-9 / Rev. 9 Wed 12 Hos. 10-14 / Rev. 10 Thu 13 Joel 1-3 / Rev. 11 Fri 14 Amos 1-4 / Rev. 12 Sat 15 Amos 5-9 Sun 16 Ps. 140-141; Prov. 30:18-33 Mon 17 Obad. 1; Jon. 1-4 / Rev. 13 Tue 18 Mic. 1-4 / Rev. 14 Wed 19 Mic. 5-7 / Rev. 15 Thu 20 Nah. 1-3 / Rev. 16 Fri 21 Hab. 1-3 / Rev. 17 Sat 22 Zeph. 1-3 Sun 23 Ps. 142-144 Mon 24 Hag. 1-2 / Rev. 18 Tue 25 Zech. 1-3 / Rev. 19 Wed 26 Zech. 4-7 / Rev. 20 Thu 27 Zech. 8-11 / Rev. 21 Fri 28 Zech. 12-14 / Rev. 22 Sat 29 Mal. 1-4 Sun 30 Ps. 145-147 Mon 31 Ps. 148-150; Prov. 31 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * article from p. 12 continues * * * * Sergei attended a university to become an engineer. Like most students there, he smoked, drank and partied. On Dec. 26, 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved. Missionaries flooded through now-open doors. Are You Ready? In early 1993, during Sergei’s second year at the university, a friend called, asking him a question in English. “Sergei,” he said, “what do you think of Jesus?” “I would like to know more,” Sergei replied. In May of that year, Sergei and his friend met at a coffeehouse with young missionaries from Youth With A Mission. They told story after story about Jesus. After a while, one of them looked at Sergei and asked, “Are you ready?” “Yes.” “Jesus, please come into my life,” Sergei prayed as he gave his heart to the Lord. Afterward, he felt enveloped in a great sense of peace. “I went home and told my parents,” Sergei remembers. “They weren’t at all happy. Especially my mother. They were both atheists and didn’t believe God existed. I stopped smoking, drinking and partying. That upset my mother too.” “You aren’t acting like a normal young man,” she accused. Sergei went to church each Sunday and listened to the message. Over lunch, he preached what he had heard, word for word, to his parents. They were beyond frustrated with him. Sergei knew nothing about a word of wisdom. But one Sunday he spoke words to his parents that came straight from the Holy Spirit. “Very soon, you’ll both be saved and part of the Church,” Sergei told them. “You’ll be home-group leaders.” Dismissing what her son had said, Sergei’s mother responded, “A year ago you were into some sort of philosophy. Then you got into eastern religion. You’ll quit this soon enough.” Except, he didn’t. The following year, in 1994, KCM published some small books in Russian, which Sergei’s parents agreed to read. By the time they finished, they had prayed the prayer of salvation printed in the back of the books. Now born again, they joined the church and soon became home-group leaders. Not long after that, they took a three-month Bible course which, Sergei said, helped them to become grounded in faith. A Hunger to Learn “My home-group leader, Natasha, worked for Jim Kasemen Ministries,” Sergei recalled. “They had a bookshelf filled with books by Kenneth E. Hagin, which I wanted to read. I sat down with a dictionary. It took me two hours to read one page. Then someone gave Natasha a copy of the "Believer’s Voice of Victory" magazine, KCM’s monthly publication. When Rick Renner helped KCM get their broadcast aired on Russian TV, we watched that as well.” Sergei had only been a Christian about a year when Satan began to wage an all-out attack against him. Dark, negative thoughts bombarded his mind. Thoughts of fear and defeat, desperation and mental anguish. The Lord directed Sergei to confess a desirable end through God’s Word, and directed him to read and meditate 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” ("New International Version"). Sergei confessed that verse and called his spirit, soul and body whole. He learned to use Bible scriptures to paint a picture of victory in his mind—an image that overpowered the darkness of the devil. He also learned to live a life of praise to God. “I’ve learned that the battle takes place in your mind,” Sergei says. “I was just coming out of that attack when I heard that KCM was looking for a particular style of Russian voice from our area. I was asked to do a test recording, which was sent to a university in the U.S. They said I spoke perfect Russian with no accent.” In September 1995, Sergei became the Russian TV voice for Brother Copeland. Texas Talk “The hardest part for me was that I’d never talked that much,” Sergei said of his new assignment as the Russian voice for Brother Copeland. “It was hard for me to keep up with him. I took each video home and watched it while taking notes. I marked where he sped up, where he slowed down and where he paused. The next day I recorded the Russian voice-over in the studio. Then I watched it a third time to see if it worked. At the time, I had no idea how much of the Word of God I was getting into me. 14 : BVOV

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